The Dragon and the Scavenger
by WobblyWyvern
Summary: A timid IceWing named Snowball has a secret power - he can talk to scavengers. One day, he is accepted to Jade Mountain Academy (four years after its initial launch), but he knows trouble's near when he hears that dragons have been mysteriously disappearing. Join Snowball, his best friend (a scavenger named Green), and his clawmates Cliff and Peacemaker on their adventures at JMA.
1. Prologue

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wings of Fire._

**~ PROLOGUE ~**

_About 5 years ago…_

The comet was blindingly bright as it crept through the sky.

Cactus had to look away to relieve her eyes of the strain. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to be sitting on the highest peak in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains right now. But she was already there, so, no point in slinking back to her home down below just yet. And by '_home_' she meant '_cave that I sometimes sleep in between delivery jobs._'

Being a courier in the middle of a war was not easy. It largely consisted of dragons hissing and scoffing at the sight of her. Cactus thanked the moons she was a SandWing; any other race would have had a lot more trouble getting into the various kingdoms. Although not many dragons particularly liked SandWings at the moment, they wouldn't attack her as long as she kept to herself which prospective queen she was rooting for (which, for the record, was none of them).

She sighed.

_My job isn't ALL bad though_, she thought to herself, as she curled tighter around the stark white egg in her grasp. During her most recent delivery trip, she had found an abandoned egg right on the outskirts of the Ice Kingdom. Cactus couldn't leave the poor dragonet to die as soon as it hatched, so she took it with her back to her home. And now she could feel it close to hatching.

_I hope the war ends soon_. Her mind wandered to how miserable life for an IceWing outside of the Ice Kingdom would be during the war. She'd heard whispers that the fabled Dragonets of Destiny were gathering up all the SandWing princesses to end the war once and for all. Cactus never was a firm believer in the prophecy, but she prayed for their success.

She adjusted her position slightly to make sure the heavy winds weren't reaching the egg, though she wasn't sure the cold would even bother the unhatched IceWing. The flat mountain top didn't have much room to maneuver – and the grey stone beneath her was far from what anyone would consider luxury – but the view was breathtaking, especially lit up by the odd comet above. Looking up to the sky once more, she noticed the orb was shining even brighter than before. Some dragons were calling it 'the fourth moon,' and they weren't exaggerating. From where she was sitting, it was the exact right shape and color.

Suddenly, the frosty egg began to shake against her scales. _This is it_, she thought as her heart pounded with anticipation. And then the egg started to glow a faint white light.

Now Cactus had never seen any eggs hatch before, but she was fairly certain that they didn't typically glow. _Or do they?_ she wondered, as panic began to set in. She really didn't know anything about eggs, what made her think this would be a good idea? Maybe keeping an IceWing egg warm with the heat radiating from her scales was actually counterproductive. Did they need to be in cold conditions to hatch? She didn't know, but it was too late to take it to someone more qualified.

The egg's glow began pulsing rhythmically, but whenever the egg dimmed between beats, it felt like all the moonlight around her was swallowed up as well. That's when Cactus realized the comet overhead was matching the egg's pulses. Bright, dim, bright, dim.

They both continued the rhythm, increasing in speed and brightness. The violent wind around her had picked up and Cactus gripped the egg tighter to ensure it wouldn't fly off. The egg continued its pattern unfazed, as the light flashed faster and faster and faster until finally… it stopped.

The egg was glowing brightly and with purpose in her talons, like she was holding a little comet of her own. The orb in the sky, however, seemed distinctly darker somehow… as if the egg had just stolen some of its light.

Before Cactus even had time to process the peculiar event, the egg's shell began to crack. Slowly but surely, the crack made its way down until the egg split open. Carefully pulling the shells aside, Cactus saw her treasure.

He had scales as white as the comet above them, like clear snow underneath the moonlight. Curled up into a ball and sleeping, she could hear his soft, gentle breaths as she moved her talon to stroke his little head.

She whispered, "Welcome to the world, Snowball."


	2. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This story was written before I knew Tui T. Sutherland was writing a book about scavengers called Dragonslayer. Although her book focuses heavily on scavengers while this fic focuses primarily on dragons, it's likely that there will be a lot of scavenger info revealed in her book that will conflict with the canon I came up with. So basically, if you're reading this in the future and you've read Dragonslayer, be prepared for some conflicting information._

_And on that note, as of the time I'm writing this, the most recent WoF book that has been released is book 13 (The Poison Jungle). So depending on how off the rails Tui decides to go with the following books, there might be some things that don't make sense since this story takes place a little in the future, and I can't predict if Tui will make any large changes. _

_With that all out of the way, I hope you enjoy my fic!_

* * *

**~ Chapter 1 ~**

_About 5 years later…_

Snowball is not hero material.

If it were up to him, he would stay in his dingy little cave with his sister forever. Sure it was a tad boring in here, and his sister was out doing her delivery job most of the time, but it was safe. And besides, he was never bored when he was with his best friend Green. Most dragons make best friends with someone in their tribe, or occasionally even a dragon from another tribe. Not Snow though, his best friend wasn't a dragon at all.

Snowball had the ability to understand scavengers. Not the coolest power he could think of, but it proved very useful when it came up. Still, Snow couldn't help wondering how different he would be if he was born with a power like super strength or shapeshifting or laser vision. Would he still be a coward?

But what he ended up with was the power to communicate with scavengers, and he was grateful for it. It let him get to know Green after all. Some scrolls theorized that scavengers might have some level of intelligence, but they didn't quite realize how right they were.

"Hey Snow! Quit fidgeting all right, it's hard to get this harness on you when you keep twitching," the little scavenger on his back said.

"Sorry Green," Snow replied, tightening his posture.

Green was definitive proof that scavengers were intelligent. Frankly, he was way smarter than Snow, and very crafty too. He made harnesses and bags and all manner of things. In fact, he was currently setting up a new harness for the upcoming flight to Jade Mountain Academy.

Snowball sighed at the thought of the school. To say he was dreading it would be an understatement. How could he not? He had never met a single dragon besides his sister Cactus, and suddenly he was being thrust into a mountain full of them? The thought of it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Hey blockhead!" Green barked. "I told you to stop moving! There are some very precise measurements going on right now."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about the academy and I couldn't help myself."

"It's gonna be fine Snow. Besides, your best pal Green will be there to help," he said, all too pompously.

Green had insisted on coming along when the news first arrived, and Snow knew better than to argue. He said it would be a good way to finally get out of these mountains and find out what happened to his missing parents. And while that was probably true, Snow knew he had ulterior motives.

Over the past year since Green met him, he'd grown very protective of the IceWing. He knew that Snow would struggle if he went alone to Jade Mountain Academy, so he invited himself. Snow was secretly very happy about his decision – the thought of being all alone in a place like that was almost too much to handle.

Snow sighed once more as he looked around his drab cave, knowing he would have to say goodbye soon. It was grey and rocky and uninteresting, just how he liked it. Of course, over the past years of his life living here, it had begun to fill up with his few belongings. He saw the copious amounts of scrolls in one corner – courtesy of his sister. She would bring back a few after every delivery trip. He obviously preferred the fiction scrolls about superheroes and adventure, but he was grateful for the informative scrolls too – especially now that he was going to be living with unfamiliar dragons. In an attempt to make up for his lack of social experience, Snow vigorously studied the different types of dragons, their etiquette, their attitudes towards each other, etc. But all the studying in the world couldn't prepare him for the real deal.

He saw the dimly lit lanterns hanging on two of the walls. The flames inside their spherical glass cases were always close to petering out by the time Cactus got back. On some of her particularly long delivery trips, the lanterns would go out completely, and Snow would be stuck with a cold, dark cave until she got back to relight them with her fire breath. _I wish I could breathe fire_, Snow fantasized.

Being an IceWing was awful. He couldn't breathe fire, his scales were chilly to everyone who touched him, and apparently a lot of other tribes didn't like them. Snowball didn't even like being cold. He could comfortably withstand low temperatures of course, but he much preferred the feeling of a fire nearby, or being close to his sister's warm scales. Of course, IceWings had their own advantages too, such as the frostbreath he never uses and the serrated claws that make it easy to walk on all the ice and snow that doesn't exist for miles.

_At least IceWings look nice_, he thought optimistically. But even looking nice wasn't something Snow could be sure he shared with IceWings. The spikes on his spine were much shorter than any of the IceWings in the scrolls (almost as if his own genetics were mocking him for being so weak and cowardly), and his eyes were a vivid silver, "like looking at two moons" as his sister so eloquently put it. _Not very 'IceWing' at all_.

Snow shook the thoughts from his mind and focused on his cave once more, his eyes landing on the other corner. There was a small pile of 'treasure' sitting there. Snow quite liked beautiful things. Well… things he thought were beautiful anyway. That corner was where he kept all the cool and pretty objects he found; shiny rocks, unique leaves, odd sticks and more. Green suspects that his obsession with collecting those items was a product of his latent treasure-desiring instincts manifesting in the only way they can for a dragon who is surrounded by nothing but nature. His cave _was_ in the middle of nowhere after all.

No dragons came to this part of the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. And why would they? There's nothing here but mountains, a few streams, and a lot of wildlife. And also a single scavenger hut. Snow never dared fly further than what Cactus allowed (though he sometimes suspected she wished he would). But who knew what terrible dangers awaited him out there? He'd much rather be right where he is, safe and sound.

"SNOOOOW," a familiar voice called from outside. Despite knowing she was sending him away to suffer in a school, he still couldn't help how excited he got when he heard the tell-tale flapping of his sister's wings near the entrance. Spending time with Cactus was a rare treasure that Snow had learned to appreciate. Her demanding job required her out and about far too often, leaving Snow all alone and miserable (well at least up until he met Green). But he knew how much she loved him, no matter how scarce her visits. She did raise him all on her own after all.

"Hello Cactus," he said, not daring to move and further disturb Green's handiwork.

"Guess what just came in the mail?" she asked as she approached him. Cactus was fairly large for a SandWing (according to the scrolls of course, he'd never seen any others to compare), and had pale brown scales like the color of damp sand. Her barbed tail was always courteously coiled, which Snow appreciated.

"Is it a letter from Jade Mountain Academy?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Correct! But it's not just any letter from Jade Mountain Academy. It's the final confirmation! Meaning you're heading out tomorrow morning to start your new journey. Isn't that exciting?"

_Exciting. Yeah, that's one way of putting it. Terrifying would be more accurate though_, Snow thought bitterly. Green jumped off his back and stood next to him, looking rather excited himself. The scavenger had light brown skin and a small tuft of dark brown fur on the top of his head (apparently called hair). He was rather short – about half of Snow's height when Snow was standing on all fours – and he liked to decorate his body with fur coverings to keep himself warm (and also because it's supposedly indecent to walk around without coverings, which Snow thought was silly).

"See, even Green's excited," his sister pointed out. "Are you sure you want to take him though? It might be difficult to have a pet with you at all times."

"For the millionth time Cactus, he's not my pet. He's my friend. And also, he can hear you," Snow complained, but he knew Green wasn't really offended by being called a pet. It somehow bothered Snow more than it did the scavenger.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she said, rolling her eyes. He had told her about his power long ago, and she believed him… to an extent. She still thinks scavengers aren't as smart as dragons, despite all the evidence they have in the form of Green's creations. He'd eventually given up trying to convince her otherwise.

"Well in that case," Cactus continued, "you should be happy to hear that they've accepted your scavenger request. Sounds like they even installed a little scavenger enclosure in your room for him. Isn't that nice."

"Yeah… that _is_ nice." Snow pondered for a moment. "How did you manage to get me into such a highly demanded school anyway? You didn't blackmail them, right?"

Cactus raised a talon in disbelief. "Is that what you think of your big sister? I simply told them that I had a younger brother interested in enrolling, and that they couldn't refuse my request because I deliver more than half of the school's supplies."

"Oh, so you didn't blackmail them. You threatened them instead, that's much better."

"Oh pish posh. They like me anyway, I'm sure they jumped at the chance to let you in. Besides, they've expanded a lot recently and have a lot more of those winglet things available. I did them a favor by sending an IceWing their way, can't imagine too many of those prissy bunch were interested in sending their dragonets." She handed the letter in her talon to the smaller dragon.

He held the confirmation note weakly, the reality of the situation finally sinking in as his eyes glazed over the text.

"So that's it then… I really have to go." There was no changing his sister's mind, the academy had accepted him, and they even built accommodations for his scavenger friend. This was really happening. His wings drooped.

"Snow," Cactus said gently as she took the dragonet in her warm arms. "You know I'm doing this for your own good right?"

Snow nodded, trying not to look too pathetic.

"I've been raising you all wrong, ever since the beginning. I shouldn't have kept you away from other dragons and coddled you all the time. There's a whole world out there waiting for you, but I trapped you in a cave because I was afraid that other dragons would treat you like an outcast. That was wrong of me and I'm sorry."

Snow didn't think it was wrong of her. _She just wanted to protect me, what's wrong with that? _However, Cactus was convinced that it had been a mistake.

"But now, a miracle has fallen into our talons," she continued. "And there's a place where you can meet and learn about other dragons in a safe environment. Promise me you'll at least give it a chance, okay?"

"…I promise," he mumbled. Snow didn't want to admit it, but if he didn't go to Jade Mountain Academy, he might very well stay in this cave until he grew old and died. That thought scared him too, maybe even more than the thought of meeting other dragons.

He summoned all the willpower remaining in his despairing heart and managed a firm nod at his sister.

"Good." She let go of Snow and turned to face Green. "Take care of Snowball okay? I'm counting on you."

"Yes ma'am!" he declared with a salute. Cactus couldn't understand him of course, but over their multitude of encounters, they seemed to have developed a vague sense of understanding. It helped that Green – along with every other scavenger – had no problem understanding dragons (not that the dragons ever noticed this fact).

"You boys better head to bed then, you'll have to get up early tomorrow to make it in time."

"Right, right. Good night sister," Snow said, presumably for the last time in a long while.

"Good night Snowball." She kissed him on the forehead and made her way to the tunnel that connected to her room.

"The harness is finished, by the way. Looks like we're all ready for tomorrow! Wake me up as soon as you wake up all right?" Green jumped into the stack of soft leaves that he called his bed, comfortably curling beneath his leaf blanket.

Snow dragged himself to his own sleeping spot, as the words "all ready" echoed tauntingly in his mind. He sank into the cold, hard rock beneath him, and prepared for a restless slumber.

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you for reading the first chapter of my fic. I've had this idea for quite a while and I'm excited to finally start releasing it. There are some interesting things in store so stay tuned! _

_I do have a request for anyone who's reading this – please let me know if you see any typos. They are the bane of my existence and I wish to eliminate as many of them as I can so the reading experience is as smooth as possible. If you see a typo, do not hesitate to send me a message. Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 2

**~ CHAPTER 2 ~**

The dazzling sun shone merrily in the cloudless sky, mocking Snow with its brazen optimism. It was such a beautiful day that he was finding it hard to keep up his miserable attitude.

_Well, this is happening_, he admitted to himself. _Might as well stop being bitter and just try to make the best of it_. But that was easier said than done. His talons dragged across the rocky floor, begging him not to go as he stepped out of his cave. Snow could see all the mountains surrounding him like a fence, thanklessly protecting him from outside dangers his whole life. The warm morning winds relieved Snow's worries for a moment, before his sister's footfalls snapped him back to reality.

"Are you ready to go?" Cactus asked as she approached the idle IceWing.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied, going through his mental checklist one more time: _bag, map, harness, Green_. Everything was there and accounted for.

"Great! I promise to visit you whenever I deliver supplies to the school," she added, straightening the bag around his neck. "And make sure you're constantly checking the map so you know you're flying in the right direction. And try to make friends, okay?"

"Yes, yes," Snow replied absentmindedly.

"I really wish I could take you there," she said. Snow wished she could too, but there was nothing to be done about it. She had a delivery job in the Sky Kingdom, which was in the opposite direction of the academy. Luckily he had Green with him, so he wasn't too bothered by it.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, her well-hidden concern creeping through her enthusiastic demeanor.

"I'll be fine," Snow lied, sending her his most convincing smile. From the look of her expression, he guessed it wasn't very convincing at all.

"Listen…" she began. "I wanted to thank you for going out there and giving it a real shot. It's really brave of you."

_No_, Snow disagreed in his mind. _There's nothing brave about being mortified to go to a school_.

"So I've decided that if you still don't like it there by my first visit, I'll take you home with me. And we can try again some other time."

"Thanks Cactus, that means a lot… but it won't be necessary. I'm going to be okay." Snow was both moved by his sister's kind offer, and ashamed that he was so pitiful. The only thing that could make this situation worse was if his sister was worried about him the whole time.

"I know you will." She pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "I love you, my little Snowball."

"…Love you too Cactus," Snow replied, his voice straining as he tried not to get emotional. This was the last time for a while that he'd feel her warm, comforting scales against his…

_Keep it together Snow, you have to show her you're resolved and ready_. He pushed back the tears that were threatening to emerge and put on the most determined expression he could muster. It appeared to be more successful this time, as Cactus pulled back with a smile.

"Well, I better get outta here before I start getting too sappy. Bye Snow. And bye Green as well. I'll see you both soon!" She turned around and launched herself into the sky. Snow watched until she was a speck of sand in the sky, and then she was gone.

There was a long moment of silence as Snow reflected on everything his sister had done for him. _I have to make her proud_, he thought with newfound determination.

"All right," said Green, knocking Snow out of his stupor. "Now it's our turn to fly! Can I get on your back?"

"Of course. Since when do you wait for me to give you permission?" Snow asked as the scavenger scrambled onto his back.

"Well I didn't want to interrupt your touching departure with your sister. Very moving by the way, I really felt the emotion," he said with a profound nod. Snow rolled his eyes. "Besides, I gotta start acting more obedient or whatever now that I'm going undercover as your pet."

"That'll be a nice change of pace, though I somehow doubt you'll be able to pull it off," Snow said. "Don't forget to tie yourself down with the harness."

The harness was something Snow asked Green to make when he first came up with the idea to fly him around. It was essentially just thick leather straps tied around Snow's limbs, with a section for Green to sit and bind his body to the dragon. This way, Snow wouldn't have to worry about the fragile scavenger slipping off accidentally. Green had to remake the harness every so often to account for Snow's growth (and his own growth too, to a lesser extent).

In addition to the harness, Green also made a large, long bag that Snow could wear on his back, where Green could comfortably lie in during Snow's time at the academy. Green made sure he was able to see outside while he was in it, but that no other dragon would suspect that a scavenger was hiding in there.

Snow knew it would be difficult to walk around with a scavenger all the time (or even have one riding on your back) without raising a few eyebrows. And he very much wanted to avoid undesirable attention if possible. So they brainstormed ways to inconspicuously carry around a scavenger, and the bag was the solution they landed on. It wasn't a very intricate idea, but hopefully an effective one.

He had previously agreed to let Green ride his back until about three-quarters of the way there. Then he'd land and Green would have to hop in the bag instead, just in case other dragons see them on the way there.

"Is the harness really necessary at this point? I've ridden your back hundreds of times, pretty sure I got the hang of it by now," Green said.

"Yes it's absolutely necessary!" Snow barked back. "I'm not even going to humor such a dangerous idea."

Green sighed as he began buckling himself in. "Yeah, I know. You're usually so compliant, but you never budge when it comes to things like this."

"Well, it's because I care about you."

"All right you big sap," Green said, rubbing the dragon's neck affectionately. "I care about you too."

Snowball took off into the clear skies, feeling a little warmer inside after hearing that. He had to admit, he felt a lot more comfortable going to Jade Mountain Academy knowing his best friend was with him every step of the way.

Who knew that when they met a year ago, this is where fate would take them. Their first encounter felt like a distant memory to him now, but it still held a special place in his heart. He could still smell the smoke coming for the solitary scavenger hut a short distance from his cave. Having never bothered to explore that particular section closely, Snow had been surprised to find there was an entire shack hidden from view.

He had descended down to inspect the hut, buzzing with curiosity. It was small – much too small for a dragon – but solidly built, with clay walls and thick leaves covering the top. He had never seen anything like this before (not that he had seen much of anything at all given his reluctance to go further than a mile away from his cave). He sniffed around the place, smoke filling his nostrils. _Is someone cooking in there? _But before he could ponder further, a scavenger stepped out of the shack.

Snow had seen goats, lions, sheep, and even the occasional gorilla, but he had never come across a scavenger before. It looked small and thin, and it was holding what appeared to be a long stick. It had an expression of terror on its face… or rather; Snow guessed it was an expression of terror. It was hard to read the emotions of something without a snout.

"I – I'm not afraid to fight you!" the scavenger declared with a quiver, raising his stick.

Snow froze. _Did that scavenger just talk?_ He knew for a fact that scavengers weren't supposed to be able to speak in a way that dragons could understand. I mean, sure, he had read scrolls that said scavengers might be the smartest prey, but for them to be able to form fully structured sentences was unimaginable.

_Could this be a hallucination?_ It seemed unlikely, but not as unlikely as the fact that scavengers could speak. He decided to investigate further.

"I don't want to fight," Snow replied.

This time the scavenger froze, his little eyes wide as they could be. "Did you just… respond to me?"

"You can understand me?" Snow couldn't believe his ears. The scavenger could talk and understand him. And he was intelligent too!

"Of course I can understand you! All scavengers can understand dragons, but no dragon has ever been able to understand us before. Or maybe they do and just ignored whatever we were saying as they killed and ate us."

"No, no. That's not true, dragons definitely can't understand you," Snow said, pushing down the sick feeling that came with the realization that dragons have been accidentally eating intelligent beings this whole time. "I've read scrolls that say they think scavengers aren't capable of speech since they're… um, too stupid."

Snow realized that was not the right thing to say as unmistakable anger flooded the scavenger's face.

"_Stupid!_? You're the ones who are too stupid to realize we're capable of thinking and talking! You're telling me we've been living in terror because none of you idiots put it together that we're sapient?" he fumed, waving around the suddenly much more intimidating stick.

"I – I'm sorry. They – we didn't know," Snow stammered. He felt terrible. The scavenger was right to be mad. The ignorance of dragons made their lives a living nightmare. Snow couldn't imagine living like that. "I should go." He squashed his curiosity and turned to fly away.

"Wait!" he heard the scavenger shout behind him. "Don't go! I'm sorry for yelling. You didn't do anything wrong."

Snow turned back, surprised to see the apologetic expression on the scavenger.

"Please stay for a little bit. I, uh, haven't talked to anyone in a while." He put down the stick as a gesture of peace.

"…Okay," Snow responded hesitantly. He couldn't refuse the scavenger after he saw the all too familiar look of loneliness in his eyes. It was a feeling he was very intimate with himself.

The scavenger seemed to brighten a little, before moving closer to size up the dragon before him.

"Hmm, you seem smaller than most dragons I've seen. How old are you?" he asked, his curiosity having completely overtaken any prior aggression.

"I'm three and a half."

"THREE?" he shouted in surprise, causing Snow to flinch. "You're still a baby? Well now I feel twice as bad for yelling."

"I'm not a baby! Three and a half is not _that_ young. How old are you then?"

"Fifteen," he said with a hint of superiority.

"FIFTEEN? You're older than my sister. You should be a fully grown adult then…" Snow eyed him from head to toe. "Wait, are you a fully grown adult?"

"Of course not! I don't even have a beard yet you dope!" he barked. His voice had enough hostility peppered in that it made Snow step back.

"S-sorry…" Snow muttered, looking down at his claws.

The scavenger walked into the dragon's sunken view. "You're definitely not what I expected a dragon to be like… What's your name?"

"Snow," he responded. "What's yours?"

"Green."

"Your name is… Green? Like the color?" asked Snow.

"You got a problem with that? It's not that much weirder than 'Snow'," he said.

"Actually Snow is short for Snowball… either way, it makes sense since I'm an IceWing. But there's nothing green about you," Snow commented, moving around Green to get a full view and making sure he hadn't missed anything that could explain his odd name.

"Well I didn't pick my name! Take it up with my parents if you've got an issue." He crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

"Sorry," Snow said as he looked back down at the floor apologetically. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's a cool name, just a little confusing." Snow looked around the small clearing. "Are your parents around here then? I can't seem to spot them."

Green shifted his arms slightly, before looking off in the distance. "I haven't seen them in a while. They're missing."

"…Well I guess that's something we both have in common then," Snow said as Green looked back up at him.

He felt a strange kinship with this odd little creature. That kinship would cause him to go back to visit his new friend almost every day for the next year.

It turned out that Green's situation was even more similar to his than he realized. He lived alone in the little hut he found, barely interacting with any other scavengers, and only making the trek to the nearby village when he was low on supplies. The journey took him days to complete each time, which left Snow feeling quite lonesome.

Eventually, Snow offered to fly him part of the way to the village (but obviously not far enough that he leaves Cactus's allocated safety zone) and save him the days of travel, to which Green excitedly accepted. Months passed and their friendship grew stronger each day. Before he knew it, Snow was carrying him to his new school.

"I'm glad I have you with me Green, I don't know if I'm going to be able to make any new friends," admitted Snow.

"Don't be silly. You're so lovable that even a scared little scavenger wanted to be your friend. I'm sure you'll be able to easily make some more," he said with confidence.

"I hope you're right."


	4. Chapter 3

**~ CHAPTER 3 ~**

The distant image of Jade Mountain crept into view, lit by the afternoon glow of the sun. Several colorful twinkles glimmered in the light as Snow spotted the countless dragons sitting outside the large cavern entrance. The closer he flew towards them, the more details he could make out… and the more nervous he got. He decided he was close enough as he settled down under a large tree, a good distance away from the entrance; close enough to observe the dragons but far enough away for any interaction. _I'll enter when it's less crowded_.

"Are we stopping here?" Green asked from inside the bag on Snow's back, sounding a little muffled.

"Yeah… this is close enough for now. I have to work up the nerve… to go any further," he replied, feeling a little lightheaded at the sight of all the dragons. "Is the bag comfortable?"

Green shuffled in the bag. "Well it's not luxury, but it is pretty cozy. I feel like a spy on an infiltration mission. Also I've got a great view of the outside from in here. And wow, look at all those dragons."

Snow couldn't _not_ look at them. It was fascinating to finally see other dragons as they intermingled on the craggy platform, the energy flowing out of them both mesmerizing and entirely too intimidating. He noticed that most of the dragons were sticking with members of their tribe, forming distinct little groups that separated the different races.

The large group of MudWings caught his eye first – large in both numbers and stature. They were all overflowing with excitement as they hopped around with toothy grins plastered on their faces. Getting trampled by overzealous dragons hadn't been one of Snow's concerns until right about now.

Strangely, one of the MudWings seemed to radiate the opposite mood. She looked to be the smallest of the bunch (though that could be a result of her exaggerated slump), and she was sighing up a storm.

The SkyWings were all crowded around a large, red dragon that oozed royalty. _Oh wow, that's Queen Ruby_, Snow realized, recognizing her from one of his scrolls. The regal dragon leaned down to hug one of the dragonets tightly before sending them all into the cave.

As the SkyWings entered, Snow noticed a lone SandWing dragonet separate from her tribe, about to enter the cavern herself. She looked around at the SandWings, and then all the other gleeful families, before finally slinking into the cave. Snow didn't think he had room for anything but worry in his heart at the moment, but he felt a tinge of empathy for her. He knew all too well how loneliness felt.

The SeaWings entered the cavern shortly after, and the entrance was finally looking a little calmer with most of the groups having already gone in. Snow noticed that the NightWings and RainWings seemed to have melded into one cluster, chatting amongst themselves. _Ah, right. They live together in the rainforest now, so it makes sense that they would a little more comfortable with each other._ Despite that, many NightWings were keeping a noticeable distance from the RainWings.

As they made their way into the cave, Snow's gaze was forced towards the only group left outside. The one that he'd been trying to avoid looking at – IceWings. Each of them looked intimidating in their stances, as if their posture alone was scoffing at Snow for being inferior. _Look at those normal-sized spines on their back_, he thought self-consciously. They entered the cave as a single cohesive unit, leaving only a handful of scattered dragons who hadn't gone in yet.

"You feeling overwhelmed?" Green asked.

"…Yes," Snow admitted.

"We'll take it one step at a time, okay? For now, just go into the cave and find your room. Then we can get our bearings and work our way up from there."

"All right," Snow said, taking in a few deep breaths. "I can do that."

_It's now or never_. He gathered all the resolve in his body and flew down into the mouth-shaped entrance of Jade Mountain Academy.

Snow could not have predicted just how enormous this cave would be. It looked only a quarter full, despite the hundred-odd dragons wandering around. Sunlight spilled in from the entrance but didn't reach the deeper sections of the caves, where lit lanterns were hung on the wall to compensate. A large stage sat at the back of the cave – flanked by multiple tunnels on either side – with a giant bronze gong hung above the center. Snow could see a few older looking dragons discussing something around it.

The cool feel of the cavern floor on his talons filled Snow with a sense of calming familiarity… which was immediately taken over by an overpowering sense of dread and terror. There were dragons _everywhere_. Big dragons, small dragons, long dragons, wide dragons, dragons of every color Snow had seen and then some. Watching them from a distance was one thing, but being among them felt like he stepped into the middle of a raging hurricane. The echoes of a hundred voices speaking at once assaulted his senses, and he rushed to the cavern wall in hope of a little respite.

Fortunately, he was largely ignored by everyone else as he made his way deeper into the cave, glued to the wall. _Wait, where am I supposed to go? Did the letter say something about what I'm supposed to do when I got here? I know I need to find out what winglet I'm in to know where my sleeping cave is, but how do I found _that _out? Oh no, two minutes into the academy and I'm already messing up._

"Green!" he whispered loudly over the bustle. "Did the letter say what I'm supposed to do when I got here? I don't know where to go and I'm freaking out."

"Calm down you oaf. You haven't done anything wrong, the letter didn't say anything. You're doing fine, I promise," replied his friend, as he patted the dragon through the bag.

Snow felt a brief wave of relief. He was gladder than ever that he didn't come alone.

"Look around for an adult and ask them for instructions," Green suggested.

Snow flew his gaze around the room as he searched for someone authoritative. His eyes landed on a female NightWing, who looked like she was a young adult. She had purplish-black scales, which made it kind of hard to see her in the dim light. She caught Snow's troubled gaze and started making her way over.

He froze.

_Uh oh. I read that NightWings hate IceWings. What if she tries to attack me?_ Snow cowered, pressing himself further against the wall.

"Keep it together Snow, it's just another dragon," Green whispered from his bag. But not even Green's words could abate his terror as the dark dragon approached.

"Hi. Welcome to the Great Hall of Jade Mountain. I'm Moonwatcher, one of the teachers," she said in a practiced voice. Now that she was up close, Snow noticed the silver scales outside the corners of her eyes, and her distinctly kind expression.

"…Are you okay?" she added as she noticed his trembling.

"A-are you going to hurt me?" Snow squeaked.

"Hurt you? Why would I do that?"

"I'm an IceWing… Don't NightWings hate IceWings?" _Oh moons, please don't tell me I'm getting the tribes mixed up_.

"Of course we don't. Well, some do. But most of us have overcome our previous preconceptions, especially at the academy. You don't need to worry about any of that stuff here," she answered with a disarming smile.

"Oh," Snow said as he awkwardly sat up straight from his previously shrunken position.

"Yes, one of the goals here at Jade Mountain Academy is to teach dragons of different tribes how to get along with each other, and show we're not all that different on the inside…" she drifted off. "Hm…"

Her expression shifted to one of deep focus, as if she was trying to stare beyond Snow's eyes and into his soul. He averted his gaze in an attempt to hide his discomfort. _Is this a NightWing thing?_

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to… stare so forcefully. Something weird is going on…"

"Weird?" he echoed nervously.

"Don't worry about it," she said as her friendly expression returned. "I came over to give you these."

She handed Snow two scrolls. One appeared to be a map of the academy, and the other a welcome note. He quickly unraveled the latter and skimmed past the introductory paragraphs until he arrived at the winglet section. There were ten winglets in total, so it took him a minute to find his name. _Diamond Winglet_, he read in his mind, and then scanned for the directions to his cave.

"Oh, you're in the Diamond Winglet? That's one of the new ones," Moonwatcher said, causing Snow to jump in surprise.

_I thought she already left_, he thought, feeling a little stupid for making that assumption.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"N-no it's okay. I'm just not used to other dragons… existing," he said, and then immediately wanted to smack himself for saying something so weird.

"Ah. I was in a similar position when I first got here. I'm sure you'll adjust in no time," she replied.

_I doubt it_, he thought. "Thank y-you for the scrolls… and the kind words. I should go to my cave now." He turned away to face the tunnel that his room would be in.

"Wait! You can't leave yet," she said. "The head of school has an announcement to make soon. No dragons are to leave until the assembly is over." She gestured to the dragons on the stage. "Speaking of which, I'd better get up there. Good luck with everything, I hope you like your clawmates!"

She rushed through the crowd to get onto the stage, joining the somewhat older dragons that stood up there. Another NightWing on the stage grabbed a mallet and slammed it into the bronze gong with a resounding _BONG!_ The boisterous chatter turned to murmurs and most of the dragons turned their attention towards the stage, where a ferocious-looking SeaWing was standing.

"Settle down everyone," she commanded. The murmurs continued undiminished, much to her displeasure. "QUIET!"

Everyone fell silent. Snow wondered why they needed a gong when the SeaWing's voice was clearly much more effective.

"Good. Now, as some of you may know, I am Tsunami – the head of school. And I would like to give each and every one of you a warm welcome to Jade Mountain Academy. We hope you enjoy your stay here.

"The reason we are holding this assembly is because… recently it has come to our attention that a few dragons have gone missing," she reported.

Hushed whispers echoed throughout the cave in response to her words. _Missing dragons?_ Snow worried in his mind. _Great, another thing to be anxious about_.

"I assure you that they're alive and well. They're just… missing for the time being," Tsunami added.

_What? How does she know they're alive and well if they're missing?_ The thought must have struck some other dragons as well, as the murmurs grew in volume.

"The POINT is," Tsunami said, driving the whispers back down, "it is vital that no dragons leave the mountain past curfew OR without at least one other dragon with them. Under ANY circumstances."

She looked strangely desperate in her speech, though it was hidden behind a thick layer of fury. _She must be genuinely worried._ The thought made Snow even more nervous about the whole situation.

"Classes begin tomorrow morning. You can spend the rest of today meeting your clawmates and getting accustomed to the school's layout. But DON'T leave the mountain by yourself. You are dismissed," she finished, as chatter erupted throughout the cave once again.

This time, Snow wasn't about to stick around. He made his way to the appropriate tunnel and scampered towards his sleeping cave, thoughts of missing dragons ringing in his mind.


	5. Chapter 4

**~ CHAPTER 4 ~**

Snow scurried his way to his sleeping cave, barely glancing up at the tunnels on his way. There was vibrant flora hung up on the walls in between suspended lamps. _Two lefts, a right, then fourth cave on the left_, he repeated in his brain as he made his way deeper into the mountain.

When he finally arrived at the entrance, he felt a surge of relaxation as he loosened muscles he didn't even realize were tensed. He was the first one there, which wasn't surprising considering he more or less sprinted out of the Grand Hall.

The sleeping cave greeted him with soft light as he entered, engulfing Snow in a familiar and safe feeling. This room was bigger than his one back home, and had several more spherical fire-lit lanterns to accommodate for the additional size. The entrance made up one of the walls, but the other three walls each had a sleeping spot against them, accompanied by a small shelf and a lantern.

On the right wall was what appeared to be a hammock woven out of sturdy leaves, attached to the ceiling at both ends. The middle sleeping spot was a raised ledge protruding out of the wall. Snow stood up on his hind legs to see what was on it, and was surprised to find a pile of red velvet plush pillows arranged in a circle.

Finally, on the left wall was his bed… or rather, his lack of bed. He remembered receiving a letter from the academy asking him for his preferred sleeping conditions, to which he wrote back saying he was fine with just sleeping on the cavern floor (that's how he's been sleeping for his entire life after all). But he also made sure to request that they have somewhere for his scavenger to sleep.

_They really went above and beyond_, Snow admired as he looked over to the scavenger enclosure next to his sleeping spot. He'd thought that they would create a small circle of leaves or something for Green, but instead there was an entire scavenger-sized room carved out of the wall. A large slab of glass made up the wall that faced outward to the larger sleeping cave (presumably to watch the scavenger through), with a small wooden door built into its corner. Inside the little room was a bed (an actual scavenger bed, like the one Snow saw in Green's hut), a table, and a few chairs – all of appropriate size for Green. The door had a latch from the outside that could be used to lock the scavenger in. _I guess they think any scavenger would probably escape as soon as they got the chance_.

Snow dumped the contents of his bag (which consisted of some of his favorite rocks, a few scrolls, and his coiled harness) into the shelves and excitedly pulled Green out of the larger bag on his back.

"Green! Look at what they made for you," Snow said.

Green looked a little disoriented after being pulled out of the bag so suddenly, but he collected himself and began gawking at his room.

"Whoa… they really made this for me?" He looked at Snow, as if expecting him to say no.

"Of course! Unless there's another dragon here who decided to bring a scavenger along, but that seems unlikely."

Green slowly opened the door and stepped inside the cavity in the wall, sliding his hand over the chairs and tables. "It's all so well made… I guess they really care about scavengers here huh? Looks like I might not have to hide in the bag after all," he said as he jumped onto his bed.

"All right now, let's not be ridiculous. The dragons that run the school might like scavengers, but we don't know anything about the students. You have to lay low for at least the first couple weeks until I've figured out more of this school stuff."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll lay low," he replied dismissively, inspecting the woolen blanket on his bed.

"I'm serious Green," Snow said with a stern expression. "Dragons are dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Aww, Snow you big sweetheart. I'll be fine, I can handle myself." Green made an exaggerated flexing motion. Snow sighed. _So much for him acting more obedient._

"You shouldn't be trying to displease me now that I have the power to lock you in your room," Snow teased.

"You better not! The room really does look like a… 'scavenger exhibit' though," he said as he tapped the glass wall from the inside. "No privacy at all. Ah well, I'm just happy I get my own room."

Sounds of movement reverberated through the tunnel outside his cave. Other dragons began entering their own rooms and Snow could hear the light chatter of clawmates meeting each other for the first time. _I'm about to meet my own_, he thought with a shiver.

"You'll be fine," Green assured him, sensing his tension. "Just be yourself and all that. If they're not total clods, they'll like you. And if they are total clods, then you're better off not being their friend anyway. It's a win-win situation."

Snow didn't feel very comforted by the shaky logic.

"I'm gonna stay in the room and watch, if you don't mind," Green said. He grabbed one of the chairs and sat down, his hands rested on a table as if he was about to watch a performance. "Hah! From where I'm sitting, it's kinda like you're the exhibit behind the glass."

Snow frowned.

"Come on Snow, I'm not going to be much help here anyway," he pointed out. "If they see you talking to me, they'll think you're crazy. I might as well just sit back and enjoy the show."

"Well, that's a good point actually," Snow admitted. "But you could at least look less excited to see me make a fool of myself."

"Right, will do." His face scrunched up into a clearly mock expression of attentiveness.

Snow released a weary sigh, but couldn't contain his smile. He knew Green was trying to help him relax with his antics. _And it's working_, he thought begrudgingly.

Suddenly, dozens of footfalls were approaching the entrance of his sleeping cave. Snow shot up and prepared himself for the dragon he was going to be roommates with for a long time.

A dashing, deep red SkyWing walked into view, with a mob of several other SkyWings trailing behind him. "This is my stop guys, thanks for walking me here," he said with a charming smile.

"We'll see you at lunch then, Prince Cliff," said one of the other SkyWings.

_A prince, huh,_ Snow thought. He certainly looked the part.

"You bet! Wouldn't miss it. And don't forget, I'm just Cliff here. No need for the formalities," he added. _He's humble too; he'd probably make a good hero_, Snow silently observed.

"Make sure you don't get lost on your way to your own caves!" he shouted after them as they walked away, before turning to enter their shared room. Snow could've sworn he saw Cliff's face flash with exhaustion for a second, but his smile was back up so quick that he wasn't sure if he imagined it.

Cliff's gaze found its way to the IceWing. Snow couldn't help but notice his strikingly golden eyes as they scanned him over.

"Hi. I'm Cliff," he said, maintaining his earlier smile.

Snow fought the urge to duck his head down and instead returned a wobbly smile. "H-hello Cliff. I'm Snowball… but you can call me Snow."

Snow celebrated internally. He'd been practicing that line nonstop during the flight to the mountain.

"Nice to meet you Snow. I look forward to becoming friends with you."

_He wants to become friends with me? Already? _"Me too," Snow replied, with perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm. Luckily, Cliff didn't seem to notice, or chose not to react out if he did.

Cliff turned away to look around the room before he noticed the extravagant pile of pillows on the raised ledge. He furrowed his brow. "Seriously mom," he mumbled under his breath.

Snow watched with awe as the SkyWing spread his enormous scarlet wings to fly up to the ledge. He hadn't noticed how big they were when he had them folded at his side.

"I knew asking for a pillow was a bad idea. Mom probably made them give me all these extra ones… and did they have to be so fancy? I mean, who even needs four whole pillows, right Snow?" He turned back to face the IceWing, and then cocked his head. "…Snow? Everything okay?"

Snow was confused for a brief moment, before he realized with horror that his mouth was still gaping open as he gawked at the SkyWing. He snapped it shut ungracefully. "Sorry – yes, everything is okay," he stammered, feeling his face flush with embarrassment. "I've just never seen such large wings before. G-guess it caught me off guard."

Cliff chuckled and looked pleased with himself. "Thank you, I'm quite proud of my wingspan." He flared his wings to show them in their full glory.

_Three moons… they're ginormous_. Snow's mouth almost went agape again before he caught himself. Unfortunately, Cliff noticed and chuckled again.

"I've never seen anyone look so impressed before. It's very flattering," he said with a smile that somehow felt more genuine than the last, and Snow couldn't help but return his own.

He was relieved Cliff took it so well. _He seems like a friendly dragon_, Snow thought.

"Oh!" chimed Cliff. "I have an idea. Snow, do you want one of my pillows? I've got way too many for a single dragon."

"Um, I've never slept with a pillow before…" Snow said. Though he had to admit, he was curious as to what it felt like.

"Well it's really simple. You put it on the floor and lie on top of it until you fall asleep." He tossed one of the deceptively large pillows down towards Snow. Up close, he could see that it was big enough that Snow could lie on it with his limbs outstretched and still have some pillow room left over.

He brushed a talon against it. "It's… so soft."

"Yeah that's kind of the whole appeal of pillows. Do they not have pillows in the Ice Kingdom?"

"Oh, I'm not –"

"FOUND IT!" shouted an unfamiliar voice from the entrance of the sleeping cave, and Snow turned to see its owner. A plump NightWing greeted his gaze, looking a little worn out.

"You would not _believe_ how much running around I had to do to find this place. On the bright side, I found out I'm terrible at reading directions."

"I take it that you're our third clawmate?" Cliff asked, jumping down from his ledge and striding up beside Snow.

"Oh I sure hope so, otherwise this would be the third wrong cave I've barged into. You guys are in the Diamond Winglet right?"

"That's right," Cliff answered with his signature smile.

"Then this is my cave! And you guys are my clawmates!" He bounced up and down like an excited puppy. "Ooooo this is so exciting, I've got so many questions for you guys like what's your favorite fruit and what do you like to do and how do y–"

"Why don't we start with our names?" suggested Cliff.

"Okay! My name is Peacemaker," he spread out his wings, revealing numerous colorful scales twinkling in place of where a regular NightWing's silver scales would be. "I'm half-NightWing and half-RainWing."

Snow marveled at the rainbow constellations under his wings. Luckily, he stopped himself from gawking this time by clenching his mouth shut, though he couldn't stop the awe in his eyes.

"Half-RainWing huh? That explains a few things," Cliff said thoughtfully. "I'm Cliff by the way."

"Hi Cliff! Wow your scales are redder than strawberries and your eyes are so gold, this is so cool," he jabbered, earning a flattered look from the SkyWing.

"And this is my friend, Snowball," Cliff gestured to Snow.

_Wait, we're friends already? Is it really that easy?_ But his thoughts were cut short by the overenthusiastic dragon facing him with eager eyes.

"You've got the whitest scales I've ever seen, and your spine icicle thingies are way shorter than the other IceWings I saw, even your eyes are different, they're super silver. Wow I'm so lucky, I got two really cool clawmates. Can we be friends?" Peacemaker asked with an expression so earnest that it made Snow lose his train of thought.

He was dumbstruck. He'd never had this many words thrown at him at once. It felt a bit like being pelted by hail. It took Snow far too long to process what the enthused dragon had said, so long in fact that Peacemaker's expression shifted to confusion.

He turned back to Cliff and asked, "Does he not talk?"

"I – I talk!" Snow blurted in a desperate attempt to not embarrass himself further. "Sorry, it's just… you said a lot of things. It was a lot to take in at once…"

"Oh," he said as he hung his head down. "Sorry. Mom warned me not to be too overexcited when I met new dragons, and I already blew it…"

He looked genuinely dejected as he stared at his talons apologetically. Snow felt bad for dampening his excitement.

"It's okay. It's my fault. I'm just… shy I guess. You shouldn't hide your enthusiasm because of me." Peacemaker raised his gaze back up to Snow, still looking unsure. "And I'd love to be your friend," Snow finished with a smile.

"Really!?" Peacemaker beamed as he shot up from his hunch, his eyes lighting up. Somehow, all the gloom in his body had evaporated in a fraction of a second. He turned to Cliff. "What about you? Will you be my friend?"

"If you'll have me," he replied, looking amused by the conversation.

"YAY! I'm so glad you guys aren't jerks. I was really worried I'd be cooped up with some rude or mean dragons."

"Me too," Cliff said.

_I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I wasn't the only one worried about getting terrible clawmates, but it's nice to hear that the others were anxious too._

"Still…" Cliff began as he looked at Snow with curiosity, "I've never seen a timid IceWing before. They're usually a lot more… uptight."

"I'm, uh, sort of a special case. I'm not from the Ice Kingdom. I was raised in a cave. Alone. By a SandWing."

"Oh. Well that explains a lot," Cliff said. "To be honest, I didn't know what to expect when I saw an IceWing was my clawmate, but you seem really nice."

_I'm really nice? Is he being serious, or just polite? _The compliment made Snow feel warm inside regardless.

"HOLY COW," Peacemaker exclaimed suddenly. "Is that a SCAVENGER?"

_Looks like they finally noticed_, Snow thought as he saw their eyes direct towards the small room in the wall where Green was sitting, looking rather proud.

"Yeah, I guess I should introduce you to… to my pet, Green." He didn't feel great about calling Green his pet, but he didn't want to weird out his new friends.

"Ah, so you're the one with the scavenger," Cliff remarked.

"How did you know there'd be a scavenger?"

"I was asked by Sunny if I was okay with having a scavenger living in my room. I assume Peacemaker was also asked the same."

"Yeah! Actually I heard that they were looking for dragons who wouldn't mind rooming with a scavenger so I BEGGED them to choose me. I've never seen a scavenger before."

He crawled up to Green's little room and lowered his head, pressing his snout against the glass. "Hi!"

Green waved at the dark dragon, much to Peacemaker's delight and wonder.

"Whoa. He just waved at me after I said hi. They really ARE smart." He imitated the wave with one of his talons and Green gave Snow an entertained look.

"This one seems a lot different from the ones we had at the palace," Cliff said, inspecting the scavenger with curiosity. "They usually did their own thing and got very nervous when dragons approached, especially new dragons."

"You have scavengers in your palace?" Snow asked. _I suppose it makes sense for royalty to have exotic pets_.

"My uncle Vermillion owns a couple. There's a whole section of the palace for them and everything, so I saw them fairly often. That's probably why they asked me to be your clawmate."

_Huh. So I have Green to thank for my clawmates_, Snow thought.

Sounds of movement from the room's entrance travelled to Snow's ears as he turned towards it. Standing at the doorway was the familiar visage of Moonwatcher.


	6. Chapter 5

**~ CHAPTER 5 ~**

"MOON!" burst Peacemaker as he charged towards her, tackling her into a hug.

"Whoa, hello there Peacemaker," she said, catching the dark dragon in her arms.

Peacemaker buried his head into her chest and embraced the larger NightWing even tighter. "I missed you," he said, sounding a bit muffled.

"…I saw you an hour ago at the entrance of the mountain."

"Yeah, well, an hour is a long time," he pointed out.

Moon smiled and wrapped her wings around Peacemaker. "I missed you too."

Snow could barely see Peacemaker's face beyond Moon's wings, but he noticed his smile grew even wider, its corners reaching his comfortably closed eyes. Suddenly, those eyes shot open.

"OH! Moon I have to introduce you to my new friends. They're super cool and you're gonna really like them." He squeezed his way out of Moon's hug and bounced over to the two other dragons. "This is Cliff, he's very red and friendly, and this is Snow, he's shy but really nice."

"Nice to meet you, Cliff. And I believe we've already met Snow, but it's nice to be officially introduced to you," she said.

"Th-thank you again for the scrolls," Snow said looking towards the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment as he remembered their earlier encounter. _I hope she's forgotten that I thought she'd attack me._

"It was my pleasure. I came here to tell you all that we're about to give out lunch over at the Prey Center, so you better start heading there if you don't want to end up with leftovers."

"_What?_ I can't let anyone else eat the freshest strawberries, we have to hurry," Peacemaker said with the most serious face Snow had seen him make yet.

Moon giggled and said, "Why don't you go ahead then? I want to talk to your clawmates for a minute if you don't mind."

"Okay, but don't take too long."

"I won't." She nuzzled Peacemaker's nose and he happily trotted out of the cave. The scene wistfully reminded Snow of his sister. _Homesick already huh? Well, it's what I was expecting_.

As soon as Peacemaker was out of earshot, Moon turned back to the two other dragonets. "Cliff, Snow, I have a request to make."

"A request?" Cliff asked.

"Yes. I need you to… keep an eye on Peacemaker. And to let me know if anything weird is going on with him."

"…Okay?" Cliff shared a confused glance with Snow.

"Listen," Moon began, "Peacemaker is very important to me, and I want him to be happy and have a normal time at the academy. I'm probably worrying about nothing, but I figured since you two are his clawmates, you'll be seeing him the most. So just keep an eye out for if he starts acting strange okay?"

"We can do that, right Snow?"

Snow nodded, though he was a bit unnerved by the way Moon was talking. _Is there something wrong with Peacemaker?_

"U-um," Moon said abruptly. "Please don't take this to mean that you should treat him any differently. He was really worried about making new friends so please be nice to him. I promise he's a very sweet boy."

Oddly enough, she seemed to be looking directly at Snow when she said that. He had trouble coming up with a response, so he just nodded again.

"Of course!" Cliff answered in his stead. "He seems like an agreeable dragon, we won't treat him any differently. Just have to keep on the lookout for weird behavior right?"

"Yes, exactly," Moon said, her wings relaxing in relief.

She looked back over to Snow with a smile, which slowly shifted into a puzzled expression, and then into a deep stare in his eyes. _This again? Maybe it really is a NightWing thing._

"Hey Snow…" she started slowly. "You wouldn't by chance know what skyfire is, would you?"

"Skyfire?" he echoed.

"It's a piece of that comet that passed over us around 5 years ago, though that might have been before you were born…" she pondered.

"Oh! Yeah I know about that comet!" Snow said, happy to finally be of some use. "My sister said my egg hatched right as it passed over. I don't have any pieces of it though, if that's what you're asking."

"That's very… interesting…" she muttered as her mind appeared to wander off. After a few moments of awkward silence, Moon snapped out of her trance and smiled warmly at the two dragonets.

She looked over to the installed scavenger enclosure, seemingly for the first time since she arrived. "So you're the one who made the request to bring a scavenger then? One of my friends brought a scavenger here on their first day too," she reminisced. "…Be careful with it though, and try not to let it run out by itself and cause a scene."

"R-right," Snow agreed nervously.

"Don't worry, I'll help make sure nothing happens to Green," said Cliff.

Snow blinked at the SkyWing. "You'd really help?" he asked, trying to hide his awe that this dragon would aid a stranger and his pet scavenger.

"Of course!" he said matter-of-factly. "You're my friend."

Snow looked deeply into his golden eyes, scanning them for any hint of sarcasm, deception, or forced politeness. But there was none of that; all he could find was sincerity. A strange fuzzy feeling began to fill Snow's scales.

"Hey Moon!" Peacemaker's distant voice called from outside the cave. "I realized two tunnels down that I don't know how to get to the Prey Center. Can you come and take me there?"

"All right I'm coming," she called out in response. "We'd better head out then."

"Right," nodded Cliff, walking towards the entrance with Moon.

"I'll join you guys in a minute," Snow said.

He turned towards his sleeping spot and made his way over to Green, who was leaning back on the chair in the enclosure. He wore an impressed expression on his face.

"Bravo Snow. Bravo," he said, clapping his hands slowly. "You made friends in mere minutes after meeting them. That's gotta be a record somewhere right?"

Snow scowled playfully at the scavenger. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed the show. Now get out of the room so you can get in the bag."

"As you wish, master." He bowed dramatically and exited his room through the wooden door. Snow held the bag open and waited for Green to step in before gently throwing it over his shoulder, tying it in all the appropriate places to make sure it doesn't slip off.

"Comfortable?" Snow asked as he grabbed the map scroll from his shelf.

"Yep. Onwards my steed!" he shouted from inside the sack.

Snow chuckled. "So am I the master or the steed?"

"Who says you can't be both?" Green replied.

"That's a good point –" Snow stopped himself as he turned to see Cliff was still in the room, waiting by the entrance with a smile. _Oh moons, please tell me he didn't hear all that._

"Ready?" Cliff asked.

"Oh, y-yes, sorry, I'm ready. I didn't realize you were waiting for me," Snow said, trying not to stumble over his words. "I would've tried to be a little faster if I had known. Not that I'm saying it's your fault of course, I just –"

"It's fine Snow," Cliff interrupted with a laugh. "If you're embarrassed about talking to your scavenger, you shouldn't be. My uncle Vermillion does it all the time."

Snow felt his face flush with heat. He was more than just embarrassed, he was angry that he'd made such an obvious mistake. _How many more times am I going to make a fool of myself?_

"Shall we?" Cliff asked as he turned to face the exit. Snow nodded and followed.

The tunnel outside their sleeping cave was a little more packed now, with dragons roaming the walkway in whichever direction they needed to go. About half a dozen dragons were loitering to the sides of the tunnel, chatting to each other or waiting outside sleeping caves. It was a lot less nerve-wracking than the tempest of dragons at the Grand Hall, but Snow still couldn't help but feel anxious.

"It's really impressive that your scavenger trusts you so much that he'd willingly get into a bag and let you carry him around," Cliff said as they walked.

"Well, I've known Green for a long time," Snow said, trying to ignore the other dragons scattered throughout. He knew they probably weren't even acknowledging his existence, but just the presence of unknown dragons was enough to make his stomach uneasy.

Cliff glanced sideways at Snow, and then started walking closer to him. _Did he notice?_ Either way, Snow appreciated it. It was a lot easier walking with someone after all.

"Wait, where did Moon and Peacemaker go?" asked Snow as he realized they weren't any of the surrounding dragons.

"Peacemaker couldn't wait anymore so he and Moon went up ahead. I told them we'd catch up…" he stopped walking. "Uh, do you happen to know where the Prey Center is?"

"I think I saw it on the map…" Snow similarly halted his movement as he pulled out the map scroll and examined it. There was a surprising amount of detail, and he was able to discern the fastest route to the Prey Center.

_All right it's straight down this tunnel then two rights and –_

His thoughts were cut short as he felt a heavy shove knock him onto the ground. He landed on his side with a _thud_, feeling the cold floor against his wing instead of under his talons where it was supposed to be. His mind spun for a moment as he tried to grasp what just happened, and he noticed a large, imposing SandWing looming over him.

Her scales were a washed-out yellow, like someone accidentally left their painting of a SandWing out in the sun for too long. His gaze met hers, and the voids that were her eyes seemed to suck all the light out in the room. "Watch it, IceWing," she said with a snarl.

Snow shrank inwards at the tone of her voice, which only seemed to aggravate her further.

"_You_ should watch it," growled Cliff, stepping in front of Snow to face the SandWing. "You're the one who ran into him because you weren't paying attention to where you were walking."

_So that's what happened._ Snow had been so absorbed in the map that he didn't even notice her approach.

"Well the idiot shouldn't have been standing in the middle of the tunnel," she sneered, her voice rough and gravely.

'_Idiot'_. The word felt like a dagger piercing his insides. For a few glorious moments, he thought that maybe every dragon was nice like Cliff and Peacemaker and Moon. But now he realized how silly that was, as all his fears materialized in front of him. A dragon who could see how worthless and out of place he was here. He curled up tighter on the floor, hoping the small audience that had now gathered didn't see him looking so miserable.

Cliff noticed and raised a wing in front of Snow, shielding him from the intimidating dragon. _He really is hero material_, Snow thought with admiration.

"Don't be such a jerk," he said with righteous fury. "He was just checking his map for a second."

Snow peeked over Cliff's wing and saw anger on the SandWing's face. Lots of anger and rage… but also something else. Something different. It was barely noticeable under the thick layers of irritation, but it was definitely there. _Oh! She's the SandWing I saw from the entrance who was all alone._ He remembered the empathy he felt when he saw her. But now, she looked ready to fight whoever was standing in her way, her coiled barbed tail uncomfortably close to unwrapping.

"W-wait!" Snow cried. "I'm sorry. She's right. I should've moved to the side of the tunnel when I checked the map. I won't do it again. Please don't fight," he begged.

Cliff looked back with astonishment, but the SandWing made an unreadable face, staring at Snow for a few moments.

Finally she muttered, "…Whatever," and continued down the tunnel.

Snow let out a sigh of relief. _That was really scary. Someone could've gotten hurt because of me._

"Are you okay?" Cliff asked softly, extending a talon. Snow grabbed it with his own and the SkyWing pulled him up from his awkward position on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," he replied. The small crowd had begun to disperse, and Snow already felt a lot calmer.

"What was her deal?" Cliff mused as he looked towards the SandWing, who was almost out of view now.

"I think… she's sad."

"Sad?" Cliff repeated incredulously. "Where did you get sad from? Were we looking at the same dragon?"

"Her expression… didn't it look like she felt bad to you?" Snow asked, not entirely sure where he even got that impression himself.

"It looked like she was ready to maul us!"

"I mean, yeah, that was definitely there. But there was another part of her that really didn't want to fight, you know?" Snow was starting to worry that Cliff was going to think he's crazy, but to his surprise, the SkyWing just looked impressed.

"So you picked up on that and decided to defuse the situation. Nice work Snow," he said with a pat on the IceWing's back. "But for the record, I totally could've taken her."

"I know," chuckled Snow. "Thank you for defending me. It was very heroic."

Cliff looked pleased by the praise, puffing his chest out a little more in response.

"HEY, who's fighting in here?" a voice called from the other end of the tunnel as an intense, coppery SkyWing marched through.

Cliff turned to see the dragon and his face immediately lit up. Snow watched as his cool demeanor instantly melted into child-like excitement.

"Peril!" he beamed, bounding towards her. He stopped earlier than Snow excepted, leaving an oddly large gap between the two SkyWings.

"Cliff!" she responded with equal enthusiasm as soon as recognition struck her face. "How's it going kid? Almost didn't recognize you all grown up like this."

"It's great! How are you doing? Still working as a security guard here?"

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome. There are _so_ many fights – turns out dragons can be pretty ornery, not that I would know anything about that of course. But as soon as they see me coming, it's like they're all suddenly best friends. On the rare occasion that they're too heated and absorbed in their dumb fight, I just have to yell something like QUIT FIGHTING OR I'LL MELT OUT YOUR EYEBALLS and that usually does the trick."

Cliff laughed, but Snow was mildly horrified.

Peril caught his expression and walked over, the air growing warmer around him as she approached. It was oddly pleasant, in a terrifying kind of way.

"Wow, you're not backing up. That's weird. Hey Cliff, who's this?" Peril asked, turning her head back towards the smaller SkyWing.

"Oh right, I should introduce you guys. Snow, this is my friend Peril. Peril, this is my friend Snowball."

_Friend… _his heart echoed with warmth. He wasn't entirely sure he could believe it, but it still sent tingles down his spine when he heard the word.

"N-nice to meet you, Peril," he said.

She continued to stare at him in silence, tilting her head to the side. _Is there something else I'm supposed to do?_ Snow thought, hoping he didn't look as awkward as he felt.

_Oh right, she's an adult and I'm a student. _He raised an arm to offer her a talonshake. _This must be what she's waiting for._

"Three moons, you really don't know who I am," she said, backing away from his extended talon.

"Uh, who are you then?"

"She's the most powerful dragon in all of Pyrrhia!" Cliff answered for her. "Her scales incinerate anything and anyone that comes in contact with them. Everyone knows who she is!"

Peril raised her snout with pride and satisfaction – _clearly not someone who is above flattery_, Snow noted. "He's right about all that. Especially the part about being the most powerful dragon. So how is it that you don't know of me? Have you been living under a rock or something?"

"…Yes," he answered truthfully.

"Oh. Well that clears that up then. Good to meet you Snowball. I don't recommend shaking talons with me though, or even being this close. Also, you better be nice to Cliff, or I might _accidentally_ slip and char your tail off."

"She's kidding," Cliff reassured, seeing Snow's look of terror.

"Ha ha, yeah, totally kidding. Anyway, you headed to the Prey Center Cliff? Let me walk you guys there."

"Sure!" chirped Cliff as they started strolling towards the tunnel's exit, chattering amongst themselves.

Snow was dumbfounded.

"Well then, wasn't that thrilling," Green commented from inside the bag, shaking Snow out of his stupor. "They look like a fun bunch though, definitely friend material, except that yellowy dragon of course. The overgrown lizard knocked you back so hard I almost fell out of your bag!"

"Yeah…" Snow replied airily.

"You doing okay bud? Not too overwhelmed, are you?"

"Maybe a little," Snow admitted. "It's a lot to take in, but I like them too."

"Well then you better hurry up sloth-brain. They're already at the end of the tunnel."

Snow quickly went after them, listening to the familiar echo of his footsteps, as well as the foreign sound of other footfalls reverberating throughout the cave. It was a strange new world, but one he was ready to be a part of.

* * *

Moon retreated to her sleeping cave, dragging her talons across the cavern floor. It had been an exhausting first day at the academy, though that was to be expected. She knew being a teacher wouldn't be easy, but her heart told her that Jade Mountain Academy is where she belonged.

She arrived at her new, solo sleeping cave – one of the perks of being a teacher. The office table was dimly lit by the lanterns, with scrolls scattered across it. Just how she liked it. Reading scrolls always helped her when she was worried about something… and there was a lot to be worried about.

She was worried about how that reserved IceWing named Snowball seemed to be causing her mind-reading powers to… malfunction. She could read his mind sometimes, but other times they'd be blocked. It was like a haze, and only some thoughts slipped through and revealed themselves to her. The feeling reminded her of something akin to a weaker version of skyfire, and she suspected him being born underneath the comet definitely had something to do with it.

Peacemaker was another concern; his behavior was odd when she met up with him at the entrance hall. He was his normal, sweet self of course… but she could've sworn he knew what she was thinking at one point in their conversation. _It was probably just a coincidence_, she thought hopefully. But she was anxious regardless. Hope had told her that she wasn't sure if sending Peacemaker so close to the place where he was 'transformed' was such a good idea, but Moon insisted. After all, poor Peacemaker was so excited to go to school and make friends.

Her mind wandered to the RainWing Peacemaker introduced her to at the entrance. Moon felt awful for accidentally telling her the prophecy involving her future. _I really shouldn't be letting things like that slip_, Moon reprimanded herself. It seemed to really rattle the poor girl. Moon was just glad Peacemaker didn't hear it.

Of course, she was incredibly worried about the missing dragons. Some dragonets arrived a few days early and wanted to explore the mountain… but a couple of them never came back. The only reason the entire faculty wasn't _completely _freaking out was because they knew the dragons were safe. _Thank the moons for dreamvisitors_, Moon thought.

They were both fine when Sunny dreamvisited them. Well, fine as in not dead or hurt. They're apparently trapped in some sort of dark cave together, but it was fairly spacious. There was fresh water running through, and apparently a small hole opened up once a day and a cow was tossed in. But the strangest thing is that they don't know how they got captured. According to their report, they remember seeing a wall move, and then feeling a sharp pain before passing out and waking up in the cave.

_Who is capturing dragons? Why are they so close to Jade Mountain? What do they want? _Countless unanswered questions poured into Moon's brain. All she could do is hope that more information revealed itself soon.

But the thing that worried Moon most of all… were her visions. Or rather, that some of her visions weren't working. Previously, her prophecies would come in full, clear images and words. Sure, they were annoyingly cryptic sometimes, but they were never broken apart and incomplete like they were now. Something was blocking her visions. The prophecies she was getting were hazy and scattered, and worst of all, she could feel that they were of dire importance. There were a few words she could make out through the clouded visions, words that plagued her mind ever since she saw them.

_Dragons… scavengers… war._


	7. Chapter 6

**~ CHAPTER 6 ~**

The next morning came slowly. Snow slept better than he expected he would, although the unfamiliar setting and having other dragons snoozing in the same room made it difficult for him to fully relax. The pillow Cliff lent him also helped – it was so soft that it was impossible _not_ to feel comfortable. In his mental predictions of his time at Jade Mountain Academy, he had thought that unending misery would cause him to stay up all night. Instead, he found himself quite happy with his situation.

He recalled the events of the previous day; arriving at the school, meeting his clawmates, getting terrorized by a menacing SandWing. It had been a flurry of emotions. Afterwards, he made his way to the Prey Center, trailing behind Cliff and Peril. Other than the Grand Hall, it was the biggest cave Snow had seen thus far. One wall of it was completely open to the outside, leaving a remarkable view of distant, mossy cliffs. The first thing that had struck him was the myriad of smells wafting from inside – ranging from freshly slain cattle to tangy citrus fruits.

The second thing that struck him was that, once again, every tribe was more or less sitting exclusively with their own race. Cliff and Peril made their way to the SkyWings, absorbed in their conversation and apparently forgetting Snow was even there. _Which is fair_, Snow thought. He had been basically invisible as he followed them, not daring to say a word. They had looked so excited in their reunion, Snow thought it best to let them enjoy each other's company without bothering them. And he definitely wasn't going to bother them now that they were among other dragons. Cliff appeared to be really popular with the SkyWings – almost all of them were focusing their attention on him. Of course, Cliff was handling it like a pro, smiling and conversing with each one of them… but his smile looked a smidge weary. _Maybe being the center of attention is hard even for someone like Cliff_.

He looked over to the group on the far right, where he saw Peacemaker and Moon enjoying their meal with a few NightWings and RainWings. He'd hate to interrupt them when they looked so happy in their shared time together – not that he'd ever go over and eat with them anyway, what with all the dragons he's never met sitting amongst them.

The IceWings were expertly seated as they consumed their food. One of them caught his gaze, much to Snow's terror. He had piercing blue eyes, sending him a look that said '_don't even think about joining us'_. Snow quickly looked away, rushing to the side of the sunlit cave where the food was kept. They were separated into various piles, each having a different kind of meat or fruit. He grabbed a goat and a large stem of grapes for Green and hurried back to his sleeping cave.

He absolutely did not want to sit with the IceWings, and he didn't want to bother anyone else. Eating by himself (or rather, in the company of Green) sounded much more preferable. Walking back to his cave alone wasn't too difficult either, since most of the dragons were in the Prey Center by that point. He spent the rest of his time memorizing the map as best he could, until his clawmates came back. They insisted that the three of them should spend the rest of the day getting to know each other. Well, Peacemaker insisted. Cliff was happy to oblige though, and Snow nervously agreed. He enjoyed it in the end though, even if it did leave him very exhausted. _Who knew talking would be so draining?_

He looked over to his two sleeping clawmates, and then over to Green, who was comfortably nestled in his bed within the enclosure. _Of course Green managed to sleep like a baby_. Somehow the tiny scavenger was more comfortable in the dragon infested mountain than he was.

"Hey," Snow whispered towards Green. "Wake up Green, it's almost time for class." He lightly tapped the glass with a claw.

"The bed is really… comfortable though," he responded groggily, but got up anyway after seeing Snow's glare. "All right all right, I'm up. But if it's almost time for class, then why haven't your two roommates woken up yet?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're not morning dragons."

"Well then you should probably wake them up," Green suggested as he stretched his noodle-like limbs. "You want them to like you right?"

"You didn't seem too happy when I woke _you_ up," Snow pointed out.

"Just wake them up, wise guy. They'll be madder if you don't wake them up and they get to class late."

_He's got a point_, Snow thought. He would rather wake them up now than face their disappointment after they're late to class. He flew as quietly as he could to Cliff's raised ledge, perching on the edge of it.

Cliff looked so peaceful in his sleep, curled into a ball on top of his pillow pile. Snow almost didn't want to wake him up.

"Cliff," he spoke softly, poking the SkyWing in the snout when he didn't respond. Slowly, Cliff's eyes opened a little. "Um, we've got class soon," Snow added.

The red dragon stretched out his limbs and let out a content growl. "Good morning," he yawned. "Wow, it really is almost time for class huh? Guess I was more tired than I realized last night. Thanks for waking me up Snow."

"You're welcome."

He smiled lazily, his eyelids still drooping a little. "How was sleeping on a pillow?"

"It was very pleasant. Thank you for letting me experience it. …So should I put it back in the pile with the rest?" Snow asked.

Cliff chuckled. "No, I _gave _it to you silly. For keeps."

"Oh. But it's so… high-class."

"_Too_ high-class if you ask me," Cliff muttered.

"I… It doesn't feel right for me to own something like this," Snow said. _A nobody like me can't sleep on such a grandiose pillow clearly made for royalty._

"It's just a pillow, Snow," assured Cliff drowsily.

"But I didn't even do anything to earn it."

"Neither did I. Unless you count being born a prince as _doing_ something."

_Hmm, that's a fair point_, Snow thought. He did like the pillow, and Cliff was being very insistent. "…All right, I'll keep it."

"Good," he smiled. "Besides, four pillows is just excessive. Even three is a lot. I tried to give one to Peacemaker yesterday but he said it wouldn't work well with the hammock. Speaking of which, you better wake him up too." He pointed to the slumbering form of Peacemaker before slinking down his ledge and going over to his shelf.

Snow went over to wake up Peacemaker. There was nowhere to stand near his hammock so he had to fly up and keep himself suspended in the air. The dark dragon looked to be in a deep sleep, with his eyes squeezed tightly shut and his talons clenched. He'd twitch every so often too. _Is he having a nightmare?_

"Peacemaker?" he said as he gently nudged him.

"Wha… Snow?" he responded, looking a little woozy.

"Yeah, it's Snow. We have class soon so I decided to wake you up."

"Oh… right… class," he mumbled. "I was having a… weird dream about scavengers."

Snow was a little disconcerted by his behavior, but before he could address it, a loud _BONG! BONG! BONG!_ echoed throughout the mountain.

"AH! THAT'S THE FIRST WARNING BELL" Peacemaker boomed, apparently shaking off all the morning fatigue he had a moment ago. He rolled out of his hammock and landed heavily on the floor. "We can't be late to our first class!" he called out as he grabbed a bunch of scrolls from his shelf and bolted out of the cave.

The others in the cave stood in silence for a few heartbeats… before Peacemaker walked back into the room. "I have no idea where the class is. Do either of you know where to go?"

Cliff shrugged his wings, looking amused but still not fully awake. "I think it says on one of the scrolls in our shelves."

"Yes, he's right," Snow said. "We have a small group-discussion class today. I know how to get there if you guys want to follow me." He _did_ spend the entire evening memorizing the map and preparing for today after all.

"Yeah! Thanks Snow. You're a lifesaver," Peacemaker said, which left Snow feeling fuzzy inside, even though he thought the praise wasn't warranted.

He scooped up his classroom gear (and Green), then led the way to the classroom. Luckily, it was fairly close to their sleeping cave, so Snow wasn't surprised to find that they were the first dragons there. The room had a large opening in the back wall where sunlight spilled in, as well as the faint sound of rushing water. Through the opening, Snow could see countless trees poking out of the ground like overgrown blades of grass. The pine scent of the forest filled the room.

The cave itself was more or less unremarkable, aside from the large circular table in the center. Peacemaker trotted over to it and took a seat on the floor, leaning his arms on the desk.

"We're first! Do you think we get a reward? OH we're gonna meet our winglet, isn't that exciting?" he chattered.

"I hope they're nice…" mumbled Snow.

"I'm sure they will be," Cliff said with a pat on Snow's back.

Snow nodded, but he wasn't so sure. _What if we get someone like that SandWing?_

As if on cue, the very same large SandWing dragoness walked into the cave. Her gaze caught Cliff and Snow, and her dark eyes widened in disbelief.

Cliff switched into a defensive position, leaning on his front talons as if ready to pounce, while Snow instinctively withdrew, making himself as small as he could behind Cliff.

"Oh great. Just my luck," she groaned, her voice just as gravely as the day before. "I get princey and his little damsel in my winglet. Can't wait to spend every day seeing those faces."

Cliff didn't budge from his stance and kept his eyes locked on her as she walked by and sat down by the circular table, opposite Peacemaker.

"Relax, will you," she said. "Your glare is gonna haunt my dreams. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to try anything in the middle of class?"

Cliff considered her words, and then relaxed his posture a bit.

"Oooh you guys know each other? How exciting!" Peacemaker chimed in.

Before anyone could correct Peacemaker's misguided assumption, a SeaWing walked in. She had light blue scales and lime green eyes, with a pearl bracelet loosely worn on her right arm.

Noticing Cliff and Snow's expressions, she said, "I see you've had the unfortunate experience of meeting my clawmate." She waved her talon towards the SandWing. "I hope Barb wasn't as rude to you as she was to me."

Barb grumbled something incoherent under her breath.

"No no, she was very agreeable," Cliff said, his face back to his usual smile. "In fact, she just promised she wouldn't cause us any trouble today. Isn't that nice of her?"

The SandWing frowned, opening and closing her mouth a few times before eventually giving up on finding a rebuttal.

"Well, that is very surprising. Hopefully she comes around to the rest of us as well then. Regardless, I am Tide of the SeaWings. May I be so bold as to inquire your names?"

Snow was a little bemused by the formality of the dragon before him. She certainly had an air of sophistication. _Maybe it's a SeaWing thing?_

"Hi there!" Peacemaker jumped out of his seat. "I am Peacemaker of the NightWings and also the RainWings, and maybe some other tribes but those are the only two I'm sure of." He spread his wings and revealed his colorful scales, as if to prove his RainWing heritage.

Tide nodded curtly before turning to Snow. "I'm Snowball… of the, uh, IceWings." _Can I really say I'm _of _the IceWings_, he pondered.

"And I'm Cliff. Of the SkyWings," Cliff finished.

Tide's eyes went wide, and she immediately shot into a deep bow. "I apologize for my unprofessional behavior. I had no idea I was in the presence of the SkyWing prince."

Cliff looked mildly uncomfortable at her sudden reverence. "Uh…"

"Are the rest of us supposed to bow too?" Peacemaker asked.

"No," said Cliff at the same time as Tide said "Yes."

"There's no way I'm doing that," said Barb.

"I'll do it!" Peacemaker said as he practically bounced into a (clearly much less practiced) bow besides Tide.

Cliff took a step back and rubbed his neck awkwardly. "This is all very unnecessary. I'm only a prince in the Sky Kingdom. Here you can just call me Cliff and treat me like any other student."

Tide looked up at him with a puzzled look, before ceasing her bow in exchange for her previous, graceful stance. "Very well Prince Cliff. If those are your wishes, strange as they may be, I will do my best to respect them."

Cliff looked unsatisfied with her response, but decided to let it go as she took a seat besides Barb. The SandWing grumbled but said nothing.

Snow heard a distant voice call, "I think it's over here!" from the direction of the entrance. Shortly after, a slender RainWing entered the cave. She had primarily green scales, with streaks of purple throughout. Those colors didn't last long however, as yellow filled her scales when she noticed the dark dragon in the room.

"PEAR!" burst Peacemaker as he ran over to give the RainWing a hug, her smaller frame recoiling from the sudden impact. "I can't believe you're in my winglet! This is so great and we're gonna see each other and get to hang out every day!"

Her scales transformed into a bright pink as Peacemaker went on, and then they changed to green, before finally settling back into her original green and purple color scheme. It was a very strange sight to see her flash between so many colors, especially considering Snow had never seen a RainWing up close before.

"I'm glad too," she said in a soft voice, though her expression seemed a touch apprehensive.

"Oh hey, you did find it," said another voice. Snow hadn't even noticed her walk in, but a small MudWing stood inside the room. Well, her stature was small, but her musculature made Snow feel like the smaller one. Orange scales lined her soil-brown body, and her flat head looked indifferently at all the other dragons in the room.

She looked over at Pear, who was still being embraced by Peacemaker. "Pear, is this weirdo bothering you?" she asked, perhaps noticing the worry in her eyes.

"N-no!" Pear blurted. "He's my friend. We lived in the same area before we got accepted here."

"Yeah! I was so happy when we both made it in to Jade Mountain Academy. And now we're in the same winglet? This is almost too good to be true! It's fate!"

"Yeah… fate," Pear echoed weakly, the green in her scales slightly overtaking the purple.

"All right then," the MudWing said, already walking towards the table.

"Thanks for asking though Amber," Pear added.

"Yeah yeah, it's whatever," she said listlessly as she sat down besides Tide and slumped onto the table. "Let's just get this over with already."

Snow watched as Pear and Peacemaker exchanged a little more conversation, while Tide began her same proper introduction to the MudWing sitting next to her. Barb was groaning to herself and Amber was barely pretending to listen to the SeaWing. _She must've been that unenthusiastic MudWing at the entrance_, Snow recalled.

_BONG! BONG!_ The gong's noise echoed through the room, signaling to the dragons that class had begun. Pear took a seat besides Amber, and Peacemaker joined her. Cliff and Snow followed suit and took their own position around the table. A single dragon-sized space remained empty for the teacher.


	8. Chapter 7

**~ CHAPTER 7 ~**

As Snow sat by the circular table with the rest of his winglet, he wondered how long they'd have to wait before their teacher arrived. _Not very long apparently,_ he realized as he heard footfalls coming towards the entrance. A golden dragon hurried into the cave, carrying a basket around one of her arms. _Is that a SandWing? _Snow mused. Several things were slightly off about her, like her green eyes and lack of a barbed tail. She looked like she was older than the rest of them, but she wasn't much larger than Barb.

She took her seat at the only available spot and looked towards the other dragons with satisfaction. "You all took your seats before I even got here! I usually find dragons at each other's throats on the first day," she said, adjusting herself into a more comfortable position.

"Welcome to your first class! My name is Sunny, and I'm the founder of the academy." Her tone of voice was proud, but somehow held no arrogance.

"As I'm sure you know, you are all in the Diamond Winglet – which is one of the new ones. We had to expand deeper into the mountain to make room for all the new winglets, so you'd better appreciate it!"

Before she could continue, the MudWing limply raised her arm.

"Yes, Amber?" asked Sunny.

"I've got a question. What is the point of a 'small group-discussion class'?" she asked in a tone that made it very clear she wanted to leave.

"I'm glad you asked! This class is a way for you to ask any questions you'd like about the school or each other, and also to introduce yourselves to your new winglet! You're going to be with each other every day after all."

"Well if I'm going to see them every day, I'm sure I'd pick up their names at some point," she argued.

"Introducing yourselves isn't just about learning names. It's a very useful way to break the tension between dragons," she said in her chipper voice, briefly glancing at Barb and Snow.

_How did she know there was tension between us? She seems like a happy-go-lucky dragon, but she's more observant than she lets on… Or maybe it's because I keep nervously glancing at Barb,_ Snow thought. He was still uneasy about being in the same winglet as Barb, and also being in the presence of other dragons, and also having to introduce himself. There was a lot to be nervous about.

"Well, who would like to go first then?"

"ME! PICK ME!" Peacemaker raised his arm up as far as it could go.

"Yes, all right Peacemaker you can go first," Sunny giggled. "Just tell us your name, something you like, maybe your favorite color too, and whatever else you want to add."

"Okay! Hi everyone, my name is Peacemaker. I like strawberries, and my favorite color is every color because I think they all look nice." He waved to no one in particular.

"Very well done Peacemaker," Sunny said, getting a pleased look from Peacemaker and an eye roll from Barb. "Would you like to go next Pear?"

"Um, all right," the RainWing started. "I'm Pear, and I like working with metal and stuff… I'm really excited to be here and I hope that we all get along. Oh, and my favorite color is purple." Sunny nodded approvingly towards her.

"All right, my turn," Amber began before anyone could say anything. "My name's Amber. I like the way my life _was_ before my sibs dragged me along with them to this school. If I seem snide or uninterested to you, don't take it personally. But I _am_ going to be perpetually grumpy for however long we have to stay in this academy."

Snow was surprised to hear that there was another dragon who didn't want to come to the academy. Maybe it was more common than he thought.

"Ah, yes. Your sibs warned me about you," Sunny spoke warmly, pulling up the basket she had come in with. "And they also told me that you really liked sweets." She opened the lid to reveal several muffins and cookies.

Amber scoffed. "Did you really think you could sway me with food?" she asked, despite her talon already reaching for a particularly fluffy muffin.

"Of course not. I just thought that it would be a good way to show you that you might enjoy your time here if you keep an open mind." She threw a cookie into her own maw before adding, "The rest of you are free to eat these as well."

Amber's brow was furrowed as she stuffed a few muffins into her mouth. "I'm only eating these cause I'm hungry."

Sunny just smiled back. The rest of the dragons took a sweet or two of their liking. Snow snuck a cookie into the small bag around his chest. _I'll give this to Green later_.

"I suppose I should introduce myself next then," Tide started. "I am Tide of the SeaWings. I live in the Deep Palace within the Kingdom of the Sea, and I am lucky enough to have the honor of being next in line for a position in the SeaWing Council known as head of Communications. The current head of Communications, Princess Moray – who also happens to be my mentor – had the brilliant idea of sending me to Jade Mountain Academy so I can learn about the other tribes' first-hand, which will provide invaluable experience for my future occupation working in the Communications branch."

"Three moons," Barb muttered under her breath. "We're supposed to introduce ourselves, not share our entire life's story."

Tide ignored her and continued, "As for my favorite color, it is difficult to choose just one, but I would have to say I am most fond of azure."

"Just say blue," grumbled Barb quietly, but still loud enough for Snow to hear. "Why do you have to be so pretentious?"

Tide shot a look of irritation towards the SandWing. "Is there a problem here?" she snapped, her elegant exterior briefly faltering.

"Now, now," Sunny interjected. "I'm sure Barb just isn't used to the behavior of dragons from different tribes. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself then?"

The SandWing let out a gruff sigh and began. "I'm Barb. I like being left alone. And I don't have a favorite color."

"That's it?" Tide asked. "How could you criticize my introduction and then present yours so poorly?"

"I dunno, I kinda liked Barb's one better," said Amber, who had now returned to her slumped position, picking her teeth with one of her claws. "It was short and told me everything I'll ever need to know about her."

"Wha – but –" Tide stammered in shock.

"There are no better or worse introductions," Sunny said. "Everyone has a different way of doing it. Don't worry, I promise you aren't being graded on this."

"Right. Yes. I apologize for making a ruckus," Tide said, looking a little embarrassed as she lowered her gaze down to her talons. Snow felt sorry for her. She was clearly out of her element here… he could empathize with her situation.

"It's okay. There's no need to apologize, this is a learning experience after all," Sunny said warmly, receiving a small nod from Tide.

"How about I go next then?" Cliff said, probably trying to diffuse the tension. "My name is Cliff. I like to sing, and my favorite color is gold."

Tide stared at him intently, as if trying to remind him that he forgot to add something important. "…And I'm the prince of the SkyWings," he added reluctantly.

"Oh great. Do we have to get up and bow?" Amber asked, her lethargic posture very much suggesting she did not want to do that.

"No! Please don't," Cliff answered, looking suddenly flustered. "I'm – I don't…"

_He's at a loss for words._ Snow wanted to help, but he didn't even really know what the problem was. Why does he not want to be seen as a prince? He thought back to the scene at the Prey Center and remembered the slight weariness he saw in Cliff's eyes. _Being a prince is probably a lot of effort… maybe he just wants to be a normal student here._

"Here you're just a regular dragon right? Same as the rest of us," Snow said supportively.

Cliff looked to Snow with a bit of surprise, but mostly gratitude in his eyes. "Exactly," he agreed with a smile. "So please treat me as you would any other dragon."

_I made him smile_, Snow thought. Cliff was usually smiling anyway, but this time he was smiling because of something Snow did. It felt good to make his friend happy, and it almost offset the terror of seven dragons suddenly turning their attention towards him. Almost.

_Well, it's my turn now_, Snow gathered. He had to force himself not to send his head downwards as he began.

"My name is Snowball… or just Snow for short. I like scavengers. And, um, my favorite color is…" _Wait, do I have a favorite color? I guess I never really thought about it. Maybe I should've left the color part out like Amber did, but then my introduction would've been too short. Well I already started the sentence so – Oh no they're all looking at me weird. How long have I been paused for? Just pick a color Snow. Pick any color, oh moons, why can't I think of a color there are so many colors out there and I can't think of a single one and now they're all looking confused and making weird faces JUST PICK A COLOR SNOW –_

"– GREEN," he blurted way too loudly. He heard a chuckle escape from his bag.

"Are you all right there, Snow?" asked Sunny, looking more amused than concerned.

"Y-yes, sorry. Forgot my favorite color for a second. Got there in the end though ha ha," he said.

"Happens to the best of us," Cliff added as he gave Snow a supportive nudge with his wing.

"…It does?" Amber asked.

Barb's expression concerned Snow most of all. She stared at him with narrow eyes before asking, "Did your bag just laugh?"

_Uh oh_.

"Yes, I think I may have heard that too," said Tide.

_I guess this was bound to happen eventually_, Snow thought as he gingerly took the bag off and pulled out Green. He looked surprised to be taken out… but not quite as surprised as the other dragons in the cave.

"This is my pet scavenger… Green." He kept him close as he carefully watched the reactions of the other dragons for any signs of hostility, but they consisted mostly of shock or awe instead.

"Did you name him after your favorite color?" asked Pear, watching the scavenger with wonder.

"…Yes," he lied. It was embarrassing, but probably a safer lie than anything he could come up with to explain Green's name.

Snow pulled out the cookie he stored in his pouch and snapped it in half. Its full size was probably too big for Green's small scavenger hands, so he handed him the broken piece.

"Oh man I haven't had a cookie in ages, thanks Snow," Green said. He was somehow fearless in the face of all these other dragons. It didn't seem to bother him at all that Snow had pulled him out. Instead, he shot an apologetic look to the IceWing and whispered, "Sorry about letting that laugh out."

Snow opened his mouth to respond before catching himself. It probably wouldn't look good if he started chatting with Green in front of everyone, so he just nodded as subtly as he could.

"Is it… is it gonna eat the cookie?" Pear asked. Snow suddenly realized that all the other dragons were watching Green with bated breath.

"Well this is incredibly degrading," Green grumbled, but began unceremoniously gobbling the cookie down regardless. Everyone looked unreasonably impressed as they watched.

"So cute…" hummed Pear, yellow scales appearing on her wing tips.

"Isn't he cool?" Peacemaker asked. "He's super smart too. He waved at me once."

"I'm more impressed that you've managed to teach him to be calm around dragons," Sunny said.

_I wish Green would teach _me _how to do that_, Snow thought. "He's, uh, very well trained."

"Or maybe he's just really stupid and doesn't realize everyone in this room could kill him with both arms tied behind their back," Barb said.

"He's not stupid!" Snow barked. He was a little taken aback by his own aggression, and so was Barb by the look on her face. "And… and no one in this room would hurt him, r-right?" He pulled the scavenger closer to his chest.

"Don't worry, we have a very strict no-killing-scavengers rule in place at the academy – courtesy of the _last_ eccentric IceWing with a scavenger," Sunny assured.

He nodded in response, but her words didn't do too much to lessen Snow's worry. He hastily packed the scavenger back into the bag, earning a startled grunt from Green. _What was I thinking? Any one of these strangers could've easily jumped across and clawed Green to death before I could even react. Even if they're not allowed to, Green would be long gone before they got punished._ The thought of losing Green made Snow feel ill to his core. _I should keep him hidden until I know who to trust._

Those thoughts kept Snow distracted as Sunny went on about the various subjects their winglet would have, the inner workings of the academy, and several other administrative details. He tried his best to listen, but the anxiety never wavered as horrible thoughts of Green being hurt because of him flooded his mind.

"Hey," whispered Cliff as he scooted closer to make sure no one heard him except Snow. Fortunately, Sunny had everyone else's attention with her explanation of how the food center is stocked. "You look pretty pale. Well, paler than usual. Are you worried about Green?"

_Is it that obvious?_ Snow thought as he nodded sheepishly.

"Well, I wasn't kidding when I said I'd help protect him, so you don't have to worry. Though I get the feeling that you're the type to worry no matter what… so instead I'll just say that as long as I'm here, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you and your scavenger are safe. Promise."

Snow blinked at him. _...It's like a hero has been pulled out from one of my scrolls and dropped right in front of me_. He couldn't quite figure out _why_ Cliff was being so helpful, but he accepted the kind words with a wobbly smile. It did help calm him down knowing that someone so heroic was looking out for him and Green.

"Any other questions?" Sunny asked as Snow redirected his attention back to her.

"I have a question about the missing dragons," said Barb. Snow had almost forgotten about them amidst all the chaos of academy life.

Sunny's positive exterior noticeably wavered for a moment before she settled back into it. "What would you like to know?"

"Tsunami said that she knows the missing dragons are safe. How does she know that if they're missing? Was she lying to maintain peace and order in the assembly?" She sounded a bit accusatory in her words, though that could very well just be the usual annoyance that always accompanied her voice.

Sunny sighed. "We were hoping that not too many dragons would pick up on that… I guess we owe you an explanation." She looked reluctant to share the information, which of course only made all the dragons in the room far more curious.

"So we have an animus-touched object called a dreamvisitor that allows us to visit dragons in their dreams. As soon as we noticed the dragons went missing, we used the dreamvisitor to check in on them. The good news is they're completely safe… The bad news is they're trapped in a dark cave and have no idea where they are."

"But aren't they gonna get hungry?" Peacemaker asked, looking terrified at the idea of being trapped in a cave.

"Well that's the weird thing. They're being fed every day by their captors for some reason. We can only hope that we find them before their abductors decide to stop giving them food."

A heavy silence echoed throughout the room. _I hope they're okay_, Snow thought.

A loud _BONG!_ snapped everyone back into reality.

"Anyway," Sunny said, "the moral of the story is do NOT go out beyond the premises alone. Class dismissed."

The dragons shuffled out of the room, an uncomfortable air of concern hanging over all of them.


	9. Chapter 8

**~ CHAPTER 8 ~**

The rest of Snow's classes went about as well as he expected them to. They were nerve-wracking, but otherwise agreeable. One thing Snow hadn't anticipated was how exhausting the entire process would be, especially those mixed classes where they were joined by another winglet. He was already having trouble being in a cave with seven other dragons, so doubling that number effectively doubled his dread. Fortunately, none of the other classes for the day were as interactive as the small group-discussion, so Snow was able to get through without having to say much.

_It was still super tiring though,_ Snow thought to himself as he finally arrived at his sleeping cave and collapsed onto the floor. There were no other dragons in sight; everyone else went off to spend their free time with their friends or engaging in some leisure activity. Snow was content to just lie down on Cliff's pillow – er, his pillow for a while.

"I can't believe how worn-out I am for someone who's been sitting down for the past several hours," Snow commented.

"Well you should give yourself a pat on the back, cause you just got through your first day of classes!" Green said as he wriggled his way out of the bag.

"Yeah… first of a million."

"Come on Snow, don't be like that. You did better than I did on my first day of school."

"I did? That seems unlikely." He thought back to all the embarrassing things he did earlier in the day and winced mentally.

"Well at least you didn't cry incessantly until your dad had to pick you up from school and take you home," Green said.

"You did that?" Snow asked incredulously. "I don't think I've ever even seen you cry."

"I was a lot younger than you are now when I started school," Green pointed out. "Well actually I was five, so technically I was a little older than you are now. Gah, dragon age is weird. The point is, you're doing a good job," he finished with an affectionate pat on Snow's side.

Snow responded by scooping Green with his talon and bringing him into a one-armed hug. "I couldn't have done it without you," he said, snuggling the scavenger like he was a teddy bear.

"All right all right, don't get all soft on me blockhead," Green said, pretending to resist the dragon's embrace.

"I'm serious. I don't doubt that I would've been a crying mess myself if you didn't come along with me to the academy," Snow said in between a yawn. "Gosh I'm tired. I think I'll take a quick nap if you don't mind…"

"Well actually, since you're in such a grateful mood…" Green started. "I was thinking that maybe we could go to the library and borrow a scroll or two?"

"Green. Do you not see how tired I am," Snow said as he gestured to his entire body.

"Come on now, the day is young! And we finally have a huge library so we don't gotta wait for Cactus to drop off whatever random scroll she picks up every week."

Snow groaned. He knew the library was one of the things Green was most excited about when he decided to come to Jade Mountain Academy. He was just as big a fan of stories with adventure and action as Snow was. Snow reminisced about reading all his scrolls to Green back home, until they ran through Snow's entire reserves. Green apparently much preferred dragon fiction to that of scavenger's, claiming that it's much more 'action-packed and thrilling'.

"But you can't even read them," Snow tried.

"I'm working on it!" Green countered. It's true; the scavenger was hard at work learning how to read dragon script. And he was doing well for someone who only started a year ago. "Besides, that's why I have you. You like reading to me right?"

"…Yeah, I do," Snow said begrudgingly. Of course he liked reading to Green. It was fun to enjoy a story with his company, and watching Green become spellbound by the narrative was always entertaining. Also, Snow enjoyed how useful it made him feel; it wasn't often that someone relied on him for something.

He let out a sigh of defeat. "All right, we can go to the library," Snow conceded, putting down the celebrating scavenger and rising from his resting position. As grumpy as he tried to be, he was excited to get his talons on some new stories himself.

After securely equipping the bag with Green in it, Snow made his way down to the library. It wasn't terribly far from his sleeping cave, and the tunnels were mostly empty during this time of the day.

The first thing he noticed when he arrived was just how green the library was. It appeared as if the color was somehow spilling into the room. He looked to the source and found that it was coming from the windows… or rather, the thick leaves that covered where the windows were. The sunlight that went through them came out a satisfying green. It made Snow feel calm and pleasant.

The obscene amount of scrolls, however, produced the opposite effect. _How does anyone even keep track of where every scroll is_, Snow wondered as he looked around the various shelves, racks and other compartments that contained them. Just the sheer thought of looking for a specific scroll amongst the horde of paper in here made Snow shiver. He had a newfound respect for librarians.

There were plenty of seats for a dragon to sit on while they read, ranging from rocky ledges to piles of leaves. But Snow wasn't interested in staying in the library after he found a scroll; while it _was_ pleasantly quiet in here, he did promise to read to Green. Snow didn't particularly enjoy the thought of someone seeing him reading to a scavenger… it was hard enough to fit in as is, no need to make other dragons think he's crazy.

As he approached the circular table placed in the middle of the library, Snow finally saw the large, blindfolded NightWing behind the desk, with scales as dark as the midnight sky. _They made a blind dragon the librarian? That's just cruel_, Snow thought sympathetically. Another large NightWing was close behind, rearranging some scrolls on a nearby shelf.

"Ah, hello IceWing," said the blindfolded dragon suddenly.

"Wha – How did you know I was an IceWing?" Snow asked. _I didn't even realize he noticed me coming towards him._

"IceWings have very distinct footfalls. Their serrated claws make an easily distinguishable noise when they walk across the cavern floor."

"Whoa, that's amazing," Snow admired. It never even crossed his mind that different races would make different sounds as they walked.

The dark dragon gave him a puzzled look. "Hmm, are you sure you're really an IceWing? I don't sense any condescension or contempt behind your words."

"Uh, I –"

He interrupted with a light laugh. "I'm just joking. If there's one thing I've learned from this academy, it's how wrong stereotypes can be sometimes. Even IceWings can be compassionate, despite what all the scrolls say."

_They can?_ It didn't really seem that way to him, though maybe they're extra cold towards Snow because he's essentially an outcast.

"Where are my manners?" the large dragon spoke. "I am Starflight, the head librarian."

"Hello Starflight. I'm Snowball… but you can call me Snow." Other than the size of him, there really wasn't anything intimidating about the NightWing. His friendly face put Snow at ease.

"How may I be of service Snow?"

"Um… I would like to borrow a scroll please."

"Yes, that is usually why dragons come here. Anything you're looking for in particular?"

"Do you have any stories… preferably with lots of heroes," Snow said, mumbling that last part.

"Of course, we have a wide selection of –"

"If you want something with heroes," the other NightWing interrupted, "then you can't go wrong with the tales of the Dragonets of Destiny."

She trotted over from one of the shelves she was organizing, holding a large scroll in her talon.

"Fatespeaker…" said Starflight. "You know I don't like to share those ones. They're embarrassing."

"Yeah, I know. It's ridiculous that you're withholding such great stories. Which is why I've taken it upon myself to make sure they get into the talons of as many dragons as possible. Besides, he specifically asked for 'lots of heroes' and it doesn't get more heroic than the Dragonets of Destiny."

"…Fine," he grumbled.

Fatespeaker smiled brightly as she handed Snow the scroll. "There are five scrolls in total, and they cover the story of how the dragonets ended the War of SandWing Succession. So not only are they awesome and full of action, but they're educational to boot! Also the fourth scroll is totally the best one so look forward to that."

Starflight let out a sigh. Even though he was wearing a blindfold, Snow could somehow tell he wanted to roll his eyes. He pulled out a small rectangle made of wood and handed it to Snow.

"This is your library stamp. I assume that your small group-discussion teacher explained how the borrowing process works?"

Snow nodded… then quickly added, "Um, yes," after remembering the NightWing couldn't see him. Sunny had briefly gone through the system earlier in the day, so Snow had a decent understanding of it. "Thank you both. For the stamp and the scroll. And also for your help in general."

"It's not a problem at all. Don't forget to bring it back when you're done," Starflight reminded.

"I won't. I'll come for the second scroll as soon as we finish this one."

"We?" repeated Fatespeaker.

"Uh, I meant 'me'. Wait, no. I meant 'I', as soon as 'I' finish this one…" Both NightWings stared at him with befuddled expressions. "Okay well I gotta go so goodbye."

He scampered out of the library, shoving the scroll and the stamp into the pouch around his neck.

"Smooth," commented Green drily.

"I've never had to keep a secret before," Snow whispered back to the scavenger as he walked briskly back to his sleeping cave. "It turns out I'm not so great at –"

"Snow!" interjected a suddenly appearing Peacemaker. Snow was so startled he almost fell over.

After taking a moment to gather his bearings, he realized that Peacemaker leaped out of a sleeping cave that Snow somehow didn't notice in his hurry.

"Who were you talking to just now?" Peacemaker asked, looking around the tunnel.

"Uh... myself?" _Wow, I really am bad at this_.

"Oh okay. I do that too sometimes when I'm bored," he assured. "ANYWAY, I was actually hoping you'd come by. Did you know that just _three_ sleeping caves down from our one is where two of my best friends' room is? This room right here! Lightseer and Bear! Two of my best friends!"

"S-slow down Peacemaker," Snow said, trying to keep up with the conversation. "Who are Lightseer and Bear?"

"Oh, right, I should show you." He gestured to the inside of the sleeping cave. There were five RainWings and one NightWing inside, chattering amongst themselves. Just the sight of them had Snow feeling overwhelmed, but fortunately they were all absorbed in conversation with each other and hadn't noticed him.

"Those two are Lightseer and Bear." Peacemaker pointed towards a rather large and rotund RainWing (the first of his kind that Snow had seen break free from the typical slender RainWing form), and a scrawny NightWing with a pair of spectacles on his face.

"And that's Canopy, Fern, Holly and Pride," he added, pointing to each individual RainWing. Snow tried his best to follow along and commit their faces and names to memory. They appeared to be trading colors with each other to pass the time, which made it all the more confusing.

"So," Peacemaker started, "I kiiiinda told them that I had a friend who had a pet scavenger and now they all want to see Green for themselves."

Snow froze. He did _not_ like the sound of that… but he didn't want to outright reject Peacemaker and jeopardize the budding friendship they had.

"I – I don't know if that's a good idea," Snow said. He was already feeling awful for exposing Green to potential danger in their first class, so he really didn't like the idea of letting six more strangers probe his defenseless friend.

"Pleeeeeease Snow, it'll only be for a minute, they just want to see him. They've never seen a scavenger up close. I'll even give you some of my strawberries." He opened a pouch around his neck, revealing countless fresh strawberries.

"…Do you just carry strawberries around all the time?"

"Yes," he said plainly, grabbing a couple and offering them to Snow.

Snow looked at the fruit, and then to the expectant face of Peacemaker, and then back to the strawberries. _Oh geez, what do I do know?_ He felt Green tap on his back, probably sensing Snow's conflicting feelings.

"Can I have a second to think about it?" Snow asked.

"Sure! I'll be waiting in the room so come in when you've made up your mind." The dragon trotted into the cave to join his friends, and Snow slinked up against a wall out of view from the entrance.

"Green," he whispered. "What am I supposed to do? I don't want to disappoint him, but there's no way I'm letting you out in the middle of a horde of dangerous dragons."

"Don't be ridiculous Snow," he whispered back loudly. "There's nothing dangerous about them. Aren't the rainforest dragons supposed to be the most docile ones?"

"Well… yes," he admitted.

"If being a glorified action figure for a bunch of curious dragons is all it takes to strengthen your friendship with your clawmate, then it's an easy decision. Besides, I want one of those strawberries."

"But – but what if you get hurt? I don't know if I could live with myself knowing something happened to you because of me."

"Snow, I promise I'll be fine. Now if you don't go present me to those dragons, I'm gonna just get out of the bag and do it myself."

"…All right." Snow was still very hesitant, but he knew better than to argue with Green after he'd made up his mind. He cautiously walked into the sleeping cave and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Snow!" Peacemaker burst, running up to his side. "Everyone, this is Snowball, my clawmate and friend."

All the dragons greeted him, and Snow responded with a curt nod. He was still not used to being under the gazes of several dragons at the same time, but he hoped that wasn't too obvious.

"Is it true you have a scavenger?" Bear asked in an excited, yet surprisingly deep voice.

"Y-yes," squeaked Snow. He was even larger now that they were standing closer.

"Can we see it?" asked Lightseer. The other dragons all looked equally eager.

Snow took a deep breath. He unlatched the bag, gently lowering it to the floor before pulling it down to reveal his scavenger friend. Green waved at them theatrically.

The others immediately gathered around him, eyes wide with curiosity and wonder. The silent stares didn't last long as they soon erupted into energized chatter. They commented on all manner of things; his appearance, height, expression. Snow probably would've found it amusing if he wasn't so worried.

They were slowly getting closer and closer, until finally one of the RainWings got bold enough to lightly poke Green.

"U-um, I would prefer if you didn't…" Snow began, but his voice was too soft to be heard over the bustle.

More of the dragons began to touch the scavenger, ruffling his hair and touching his clothes. Even Green was starting to look a little uncomfortable.

"H-hey!" Snow tried again, but he was completely ignored. The dragons were too deep in their captivation. _Oh moons, they can't hear me. Stop touching him like that, he's not a toy! _he shouted mentally in vain.

"HEY!" boomed Peacemaker. "How about we give Green some space. He's not a toy."

The other dragons shifted their view from Green up towards Peacemaker, looking as if they had just been caught by a teacher.

"Oh, right, sorry. Guess we got a little carried away," Bear said. The dragons all backed away apologetically, and Snow took the opportunity to scoop up Green into his talons.

"Thanks for letting my friends see Green. Let me walk you back to our room." Peacemaker looked towards the others and said, "Be back in a minute!"

Snow nodded and quickly followed Peacemaker out of the cave. He didn't even bother putting Green in the bag, instead opting to just hold him until they got to their destination. Fortunately, the tunnel was empty aside from Snow and Peacemaker.

Once they were out of earshot of the other dragons, Peacemaker began frantically speaking. "Oh gosh I'm so sorry about that. I didn't realize they'd get so grabby."

"No no, it's okay. I should've told them I didn't want anyone to get that close… It's hardly their fault for not knowing when I didn't even say anything. Thanks for telling them to back off a little."

"Well I basically just repeated what you said but louder, so you can thank yourself for that."

_I'm surprised he could hear my voice at all through the rowdy chatter, _Snow thought. "I don't think they would've stopped if it wasn't for you, so thank you anyway. Your friends seem nice though, I'm sure they just got caught up in the moment."

"Yeah! They're super cool."

"Not a lot of NightWing friends though" Snow pointed out, before realizing what he'd said. "N-not to be rude of course. Just noticed there were a lot of RainWings, is all."

"Well I've got a few more NightWing friends, but most of them don't like me." Peacemaker jolly exterior faded a little. "Mom says that they just aren't ready to accept a hybrid so soon, and that I should give them more time to adjust." He lightly kicked the cavern floor with a talon, sending a little dust into the air.

"Well… don't worry about them," Snow assured. "You've got plenty of other dragons who like you. Like me."

"Thanks Snow," he said with a small smile.

"And how many of those NightWings can say that they have a scavenger who likes them?"

"You really think Green likes me?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't just think it, I know it. Right Green?" Snow said as he held the scavenger up closer to Peacemaker.

Green nodded firmly, and reached out his hand to pat Peacemaker on the shoulder. His eyes sparkled, any previous gloominess disappearing instantly.

"…Awesome," he marveled.

_Note to self: Peacemaker is very easy to cheer up if Green is deployed._

"OH," Peacemaker said, snapping out of his trance. "I almost forgot." He pulled out a handful of strawberries from his pouch and handed them to Snow. "Here's your payment. I gotta head back to my other friends now, enjoy your scroll!"

"Thanks!" Snow called out after him as he left. _Did I tell him about the scroll?_ he mused briefly, before dismissing the thought.

He entered his sleeping cave and made his way towards his side of the room. "Are you okay Green?" Snow asked as he gently put down the scavenger.

"I'm fine," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "It really wasn't all that bad. You gotta stop worrying about me, I'm more resilient than I look." He seized a strawberry from Snow's talon.

"Well that's good to hear, cause you look about as resilient as a sack of feathers."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm pretty fit for a scavenger," he countered, though Snow doubted the accuracy of that statement. "Now are you gonna read this scroll to me or not?"

"Yes yes, your highness," Snow said as he took a seat in front of Green, who responded by sitting cross-legged on the floor (which looked like an incredibly uncomfortable way to sit in Snow's opinion, though Green assured him that scavengers preferred it this way).

And thus, Snow began reading the story of the Dragonets of Destiny. Green was immediately hooked, and Snow found himself equally captivated. He had to admit, it was pretty cool reading about all the crazy stuff his teachers did in their youth. Apparently Starflight was one of the dragonets himself, which explains why he was embarrassed to hand over the scroll.

"…And the dragon that Clay had to fight in the SkyWing arena was… Peril!" Snow narrated dramatically.

Green's eyes went wide.

"I know right? Pretty shocking stuff," Snow said. But Green said nothing in response, which is when Snow realized his wide eyes weren't looking at him…

He quickly turned his head towards the entrance, only to find Cliff standing there, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"You _read_ to your scavenger? That is adorable," he said.

Snow could only stare in horror and embarrassment. _How could I be so careless?_ he berated himself. He should've at least faced the entrance as he read so he could pretend he was reading to himself if someone walked in.

"I was – um, it was just that the scroll –"

"Snow, there's no need to be embarrassed," Cliff said, cutting off his ramblings. "I wasn't making fun of you. It's actually very endearing to see how much you care about Green."

It was impossible _not _to feel embarrassed, but Snow relaxed a little after Cliff said he wasn't mocking him. Though really, he knew from the beginning that Cliff's smile had no malicious intent behind it.

"You don't think I'm… silly for reading to him?" Snow asked carefully.

"Well, maybe a little," Cliff admitted as he sat down next to Snow. "But the way he was listening to you… Do you ever get the feeling that scavenger's kind of understand us?"

_They do_, Snow wanted to say out loud. He wondered how Cliff would react if he told him that. Instead he settled for, "Yeah, I do get that feeling sometimes. Like they're more intelligent than we think they are."

"I agree," he nodded. "They definitely have complex emotions at the very least. My uncle's scavengers were downright depressed for a while when they were first brought to our home, no matter how much stuff we gave them. They eventually warmed up to us though." He looked intently at Green, scrutinizing his face and features. "But they never liked us as much as Green seems to like you. Maybe we should've tried reading to them…"

"I don't think that's the problem," Snow chuckled. "Maybe I could come over one day and see if I can help?" _I'm sure they'd tell me if I asked nicely enough._

Cliff's golden eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Yeah! That's a great idea. I could show you around the palace."

_Oh right, he's a prince. He lives in a palace..._ Snow was suddenly a little less enthusiastic about the idea. It probably didn't help that he was just reading about the horrifying stuff that happened in the Sky Kingdom's palace, though he knew a lot had changed since then.

"And I'll introduce you to my mom. She's the best. I think you'll really like her."

"You mean… Queen Ruby?" Snow squeaked. Being in the presence of a queen was… a chilling thought. Now he was definitely regretting his proposal.

"Don't sound so terrified, she's really sweet. And besides, you won't have anything to worry about cause I'd be with you the whole time to protect you from any trouble." He puffed his chest out valiantly and dramatically.

Snow laughed lightly, earning a pleased look from Cliff. Which reminded him… there was something he'd been meaning to ask the SkyWing.

"Hey Cliff… Why are you being so, um, helpful?" Snow asked honestly. He couldn't help but find it odd that a dragon like Cliff would be so insistent on defending someone as insignificant as Snow.

"Do I need a reason to want to help you?" he asked with a puzzled look. "I try to help out as many dragons as I can, especially the interesting and kind ones."

"You think I'm interesting and kind?"

"Are you kidding? You're an IceWing who was raised outside the Ice Kingdom in a cave all alone, and you have a pet scavenger that seems to entirely trust you. Seems pretty interesting to me," he pointed out. "You know… they say that the kindness in a dragon is proportional to how much scavengers like them. I guess that means you must be the kindest dragon in all of Pyrrhia."

Snow had to look away from Cliff's entirely sincere smile. He was _not _equipped to handle this level of praise. He felt a blush creep across his face as he looked at the wall in an attempt to keep Cliff from noticing. _I'm the kind one? You're the one saying all those nice things about me_, Snow muttered mentally.

"But that's a long ways away," Cliff sighed. "I don't think we'll be allowed to visit home any time soon… if I haven't already scared you off from the idea."

"Well I won't lie to you, it is pretty scary to think about," he said, still looking at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the room. "But… if you're there with me, then I think I'll be okay."

Snow heard Cliff laughing softly behind him. "It's a deal then."

There was a brief silence.

Cliff eventually piped up and said, "Well, I better let you get back to your reading then."

"You're going back out?" Snow asked. "Did you come to the cave to pick something up?"

"Well… no, not exactly." He shuffled his talons.

"Then why did you come back to the room at all?" Snow probed with curiosity. He did think it was a little odd that Cliff returned so early.

"I, well, hmm," Cliff paused as he tried to find the right words. He spoke slowly and deliberately, "I have a lot of friends… and they're all very energetic. And it can be a little… tiring sometimes, so I decided to come back to my cave and gather myself a little."

_Ah, he ran away and hid because he needed a break_, Snow concluded. _Poor Cliff, being so popular must be tough._

"Why don't you just stay here then?" Snow offered.

Cliff looked surprised at the suggestion, but then deflated a little. "I can't do that to them. They're my friends, it would be wrong to abandon them."

"Just tell them your other friend Snowball demanded you stay and spend more time with him. I'm an IceWing, so they'll definitely buy it."

Cliff laughed, leaving Snow with a pleasant feeling inside. "I suppose I _could_ stay for a little longer… but only if you agree to read to me as well."

"W-why would you want me to read to you?"

"You're reading about when the dragonets were in the Sky Kingdom right?" Cliff asked. _How long had he been listening to have figured that out? _Snow thought. "I can't have your first impressions of my home be so terrifying. So I'll chime in and let you know what mom has changed since the reign of grandma."

_Hmm, that does sound like fun… and it'll convince Cliff to stay and he'll be able to recuperate a little more before going out._ He looked to Green to try and ascertain if he was okay with the arrangement. The scavenger gave him a look that said 'Don't mind me, I'm happy to listen and watch.' He had been lightly smiling throughout the entire conversation, probably amused by the exchange.

"All right, I'll – uh, read to you," Snow eventually said. _Bah, this is going to be so embarrassing._

"Great!" Cliff said as he settled down in front of Snow, looking far too excited for someone who was about to be read to.

Snow cleared his throat and began to speak.


	10. Chapter 9

**~ CHAPTER 9 ~**

Snow was seated in the back row of a large classroom, as an old, blue-green SeaWing droned on at the front. This cave was exceptional in size, sporting multiple rows of seats, each one elevated higher than the row in front of it.

_History class_, Snow thought excitedly. Not many dragons would be enthusiastic about learning history (as evidenced by the several lethargically posed classmates currently in view), but Snow knew he would enjoy it. Not because he was especially interested in history of course, but because this was one of the few classes where he knew he could just sit back and relax. No need for any participation here; he just had to listen.

Still, he couldn't be completely comfortable. It had been less than a week since he arrived at the academy and he was still adjusting himself to being in the presence of other dragons. He was getting better, admittedly; no longer flinching whenever a stranger made eye contact with him, or panicking when somebody approached.

However, despite all of his improvements, he still found mixed classes like these tough to handle. Except, this wasn't any ordinary mixed class, this time there were _three_ winglets mixed together. A whopping twenty-one dragons were sitting in the same cave. And of course, as Snow had come to expect whenever there was a large number of dragons, most of them naturally drifted to sit with members of their own tribes.

Fortunately, Cliff and Peacemaker chose to sit on either side of him. They knew about his, er, struggle with the IceWings and thus opted to save him the trouble of finding a reason not to sit with them (_not that they would let me sit with them if I wanted to,_ Snow thought). His two friends had their own friends on the other side of them, so Snow didn't feel like he was stealing them away or anything.

He decided to be a little bold today and let Green out of his bag to sit on the table. During most classes, Snow would never dream of letting the scavenger out for fear of him getting mauled. However, Green himself had expressed interest in joining him in history class for some reason, and Snow was surrounded by two dragons he trusted, with no one else in range to hurt the scavenger.

Besides, there was really no point in hiding Green's existence from the public eye anymore. Despite not even a week passing yet, everyone already knew Snowball as 'the dragon with the pet scavenger'. Rumors spread fast apparently (though the process was probably accelerated when he decided to show Green to Peacemaker and his chatty friends).

Regardless of all that, he was looking forward to a peaceful class where he could take it easy and let the soothing drone of his teacher's words lull him into a state of serenity.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way," the old dragon (who introduced himself as Webs) said, "I'd like to commence the history lesson. We'll start at the beginning, with the Scorching."

Snow winced._ Of course we'd start there_, he sighed mentally. He had been expecting it to come up at some point, but not during the first lesson.

The Scorching was an… interesting topic. As Webs continued to explain; the event took place 5016 years ago, when dragonkind took over as the dominant life form in Pyrrhia… by slaughtering millions of scavengers. The dragons were united by a NightWing named Avarice, who led the charge and 'heroically' liberated their kind (Snow didn't think she was very heroic).

He looked towards Green, trying to get a read on his expression. While dragons talked about the Scorching like it was a monumental point in their history, scavengers had a slightly different view on the subject. In fact, they had an entirely different name for it; the Extermination – an event where all the dragons in the world suddenly decided that scavengers weren't allowed to live anymore, crushing them like overgrown bugs. Families were torn apart, lines of ancestry were cut short, and entire civilizations were wiped off the face of Pyrrhia. It was genocide, plain and simple… yet here they were in class discussing it like it was just another victory for the dragons.

_I hope Green isn't too uncomfortable about the current subject material_, Snow thought. But to his surprise, Green's expression contained nothing but intense curiosity.

"There are many stories about life before the Scorching," Webs intoned. "After so many thousands of years, it is hard to know which ones to believe."

That was another interesting thing. While dragons have a lot of conflicting records prior to the Scorching, scavengers hold consistent records of life before then. And one thing that all the records had in common was that dragons and scavengers co-existed peacefully. Snow was more than a little surprised when Green had revealed this information to him a few months after they had met. It made it all the more awful that dragons suddenly decided to massacre them all.

"Most of the pre-Scorching stories would best be described as 'legends' or perhaps even 'fairy tales,'" Webs continued. "It is unlikely that scavengers were ever capable of being as organized as some of these imaginative fictions would have us believe. Stories often change and grow over time."

_They don't even realize how wrong they are_, Snow thought. Green looked particularly bothered by this, according to his contorted face.

"Snow," Green whispered into his ear. "Ask that old water dragon how it's possible that scavengers can build impressive dens and huts if they're 'incapable of being organized and advanced'."

"I really don't want to bring any attention to myself…" Snow replied with the quietest murmur he could muster that would still be audible to Green. He prayed that Cliff sitting next to him wouldn't notice him talking to his scavenger again.

"Come on Snow, they're clearly wrong and you know it. I just want to know their reasoning. Don't you?" he pleaded.

"Fine, I'll ask," Snow conceded in a whisper that was a little louder than he meant it to be. _So much for a relaxing class._

He heard Cliff shuffle in his seat. _Did he hear me? _He dared to check with a sidelong glance, only to realize in horror that Cliff was doing the same. _Oh great, he noticed. If he didn't think I was crazy before, he definitely does now._

"Um, I – I have a question Webs," he sputtered, hoping to distract Cliff from what just occurred.

"Yes Snowball?"

A little taken aback that the teacher knew his name, he continued. "You said that it's unlikely scavengers are capable of being advanced and organized, but they can clearly build dens and huts and things like that… How are they able to build if they're so incapable?

"Well, we believe that something akin to instinct is driving them to build those clever little dens. Like when a bird builds a nest, or when ants construct complex tunnels."

"…But their ingenuity and craftsmanship clearly shows that there is some sort of thought process occurring… it would be reductive to assume it's just instinct," Snow added.

"Many dragons share that point of view, but unfortunately, at this point in time there is just no significant proof. It doesn't help that communication is impossible and most scavengers bolt at the sight of a dragon… I suspect we may never know the truth."

_But that's not fair! They can do amazing things, if we ever gave them the chance. Is the world really going to go on like this forever? With dragons and scavengers never understanding each other until the end of time?_

Snow suddenly became very aware of the stares of his other classmates as they watched him discuss the topic with the teacher. Their expressions ranged from intrigued to irritated. If anyone hadn't already thought of him as the scavenger-obsessed dragon before, they definitely did now.

"I – I see… thank you for the information sir," he concluded hurriedly, shrinking into his seat.

"Not a problem young Snowball, I appreciate the interest. Now, as I was saying…"

Webs continued his lesson. Green looked unsatisfied, but he gave him an appreciative nod anyway. Snow wasn't feeling very satisfied either.

He made a mental note to go to the library after classes were over for the day and find out a little more on the topic. There was something that didn't sit right with him…

* * *

Snow dumped the talonful of scrolls that Starflight gave him onto the cavern floor. The NightWing was kind enough to deliver him several relevant scrolls when Snow told him he wanted to read about scavengers. _How in the world did he find these so quickly among the thousands of scrolls_, he wondered as he began to organize them.

He was currently in one of the study rooms within the library; a private space where no other dragon would bother you while you studied. It was pretty small and entirely bland, but it served its purpose well.

"Sooo, what's the plan here exactly?" Green finally spoke once they settled in the room.

"I'm conducting research," Snow replied, shuffling the scrolls around methodically.

"You do realize that I could probably tell you anything these scrolls could about scavengers, right?"

"That's not the point. At this point, I'm pretty sure even I know more about scavengers than any of the dragons who wrote these."

"Then what _is_ the point?" Green asked.

"Didn't it bother you?" Snow looked up from the scrolls to meet the scavenger's eyes. "What Webs said, about how scavengers aren't smart."

"Well, yeah. But that's nothing new," he pointed out. "Dragons have been thinking like that for millennia."

"Exactly! How could they not have realized the truth by now? Even if they can't understand you, surely they'd be able to see you're not dumb animals by now." Snow began shuffling through the scrolls again. "Which is why I'm trying to find out what dragons know about scavengers. Maybe it'll give us a clue as to why they haven't been able to notice."

Snow began sifting through all the parchments in front of him, reading as much as he could (out loud of course, for the benefit of Green).

There was a surprising amount of conflicting and outright incorrect information, suggesting things like 'scavengers can come in colors like purple or yellow' or 'scavengers only live up to 40 years'. One particularly disturbing scroll outlined the best way to serve a scavenger in a meal… Snow decided he would ask Starflight to get rid of that one on his way out.

The most interesting thing of note was that throughout the countless research projects and experiment campaigns, no dragon has ever managed to figure out the scavenger language, or even that they _have_ a language.

Of course, Snow didn't expect to find notes on how to speak scavenger or anything, but there was absolutely nothing about scavenger speech. The various experiments should've at least revealed rudimentary information. But instead, all notes indicated that scavengers only ever made sounds like 'yibble' or 'yobble', and that they were not said in any meaningful way.

"I don't think I've ever heard any scavenger say 'yibble' in my life," commented Green. "How could they possibly be hearing that?"

"You're right… it's very odd. Especially since we're obviously talking the same language. Otherwise, how would all scavengers be able to understand dragons?"

"Hmm," Green hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think that maybe dragons just… _can't_ understand scavengers?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I honestly can't think of any other explanation. Dragons aren't _so_ dumb as to not realize scavengers are intelligent after all this time. Maybe we're cursed or something. Cursed so that dragons only hear weird noises like 'yibble' when we speak."

_Hmm, well it would go a long way to explaining why dragons think scavengers are incompetent. If they only ever heard them making the same noises over and over, it's reasonable to assume they have the same level of intelligence as other animals who repeat their cries, like cows or pigs._

"You might be on to something there… but still, that's a pretty big jump to make."

"Think about it logically," Green began. "Scavenger records show that we used to co-exist peacefully with dragons. And that rickety sea dragon said that before the Scorching, there were records of dragons believing that scavengers were advanced and intelligent, right? But afterwards, all dragons suddenly stopped thinking that. There must have been something that occurred between the two events. Something like all scavengers getting cursed to sound like unintelligent beasts."

"That does sound plausible. But who would do such a thing?"

"I have a pretty good guess," Green said with a grim expression. "Avarice."

"Avarice?" Snow echoed. He didn't know much about the NightWing other than the fact that she initiated the Scorching.

"Dragons might treat her like a revolutionary hero, but for scavengers, she's the ultimate villain."

"R-really?" Snow asked, equal parts curious and daunted by Green's tone.

"Yeah. They tell little kids that if they don't eat their veggies, Avarice will visit them in their nightmares and gobble them up."

Snow gulped. "I guess that makes sense though… she did essentially start the war the wiped out most of your species."

"It's much more than that though," Green said. "I was surprised by how much your history teacher left out. Avarice had always hated scavengers, even back when the two co-existed peacefully. Luckily, the dragons of the past ignored her cries to exterminate the scavengers and take over as the one and only dominant species. Until one day, everyone else suddenly flipped to her side. The only conclusion we could draw was that she bewitched them all somehow."

"…The curse," Snow realized.

"Exactly."

It was a lot to take in. Snow wasn't sure how accurate their theory was, but it did explain quite a few things.

"The real question is, why do you seem to be unaffected by this curse?" Green asked.

He didn't know how to answer that. Snow was just a regular, insignificant and unimportant dragon. Why did he have this ability? Wouldn't it have been better served on someone who was heroic and brave? Someone who could actually use the power to make a difference?

Snow shook his head. Regardless of how wasted he thought the power was on himself, he was the one who had it. And if there was something he could do to help the scavengers, then he would try his best. It was the least he could do.

He buried his head back into the scrolls and continued scanning for anything helpful.


	11. Chapter 10

**~ CHAPTER 10 ~**

Snow didn't know what to expect when he saw the words 'Music Class' on his winglet schedule. There wasn't a lot he knew about music, having been raised alone in a cave for most of his life.

Standing at the entrance to the class, his first impression of music was that it was _loud_. He watched as several dragons played different instruments that wildly conflicted with each other. Some were low and earthy and reverberated in Snow's chest, while others were shrill and high and made his head spin.

"This is gonna be so fun," Peacemaker chimed, watching from the entrance with Cliff and Snow. He waved at a RainWing who was currently playing some kind of flute.

"Music usually sounds more… unified than this," Cliff said after seeing the look on Snow's face. "Everyone's just trying out a bunch of instruments right now since it's our first class and all. Don't worry, I think you'll like it after you see what it can really do."

Snow nodded. Cliff was probably right, and it wouldn't be fair to judge music as a whole based on the skills of several curious dragonets.

"Do you two play any instruments?" asked Cliff.

"I can sing, and dance!" Peacemaker answered. "Does dancing count?"

"Sure. I can see some dragons dancing, and the teacher doesn't seem to mind," Cliff pointed out.

The teacher didn't seem to mind very much at all; the older, portly SandWing had his snout buried in a scroll while everyone did as they pleased.

"What about you Snow?" Cliff continued.

"I can't play anything… or dance," Snow admitted, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. "Sorry."

"That's okay. No need to apologize," Cliff said. "Why don't we go over to the string section and maybe I can teach you how to play guitar."

"You know how to play guitar?" Snow asked, unable to mask the awe in his voice.

"Actually I can play several instruments. And I'm really good at singing," Cliff boasted, lifting his head up high. "But yes, I know how to play guitar."

"And you're willing to teach me?"

"If you're willing to learn."

Snow mulled it over for a moment. "All right," he finally answered. He wasn't sure how successful it would be, but at least he'd get to spend time with his friend.

"I think I see Pear and Amber over there already," Peacemaker pointed out as he scampered over towards the string section. Sure enough, the RainWing and MudWing were there by the wall.

As Snow approached, he noticed Amber strumming what appeared to be a banjo. Now that he was close, all the other noise in the room faded slightly and he could focus on Amber's music. He watched as her claws plucked each string with surprising dexterity, her heavy tail pounding the floor rhythmically. She looked… peaceful.

"Wow, you're super good at that," Peacemaker praised. "Where did you learn to play?"

Amber shrugged her wings. "It's something I picked up back at the swamp."

As soon as she mentioned the swamp, her peaceful expression changed into her usual sourness. But before anyone could say anything, a loud "AMBER!" burst from the cave's entrance.

A ludicrously large MudWing (with an equally large grin) rushed to Amber's side and gave her a one-winged hug.

"We're in the same music class!" the huge MudWing said.

"Get off me Al," Amber said irritably.

The other MudWing only laughed a loud, lively laugh in response. "I can't believe you're _still_ grumpy about the whole school thing."

Amber scowled, but said nothing.

The large MudWing rolled his eyes, though his smile never broke for a second. He turned to Snow and the other dragons. "Hi there. The name's Alligator. I'm Amber's bigwings."

Snow's eyes went wide. Bigwings… that meant that he was one of Amber's sibs… which meant that they were the same age. Just the thought of it seemed absurd; for one, Amber was almost half his size (though to be fair, Alligator was so large that he was probably bigger than some of the adults Snow had seen walking around). And also, Alligator seemed to be in a perpetually good mood, which is about the opposite of what Snow had come to expect from Amber.

Though now that he looked, he could see the same streaks of light orange scales that Amber had lining the bigger MudWing's torso. Alligator was probably one of the giddy MudWings he spotted from the entrance on the first day of school (though if he remembered correctly, they were all giddy aside from Amber).

Alligator laughed again. "I love telling people that, they always look so surprised. Anyway, you all better be nice to my sister! If I hear you've been messing with her, I _will_ kill you."

Snow blinked, slowly processing what he just heard. The most terrifying part was that he was still smiling brightly throughout his threat. His large muscles and the sharp teeth in his wide grin suddenly looked much more intimidating.

"Knock it off Al," Amber scolded. "They're gonna believe you."

"Well that's good, cause I'm not joking."

"Al!" she chastised.

"Sorry sorry," he snickered. "All right I was kidding. Didn't mean to scare you, little guy."

It wasn't until he looked towards Snow that he realized Alligator was referring to him. _I'm not little_, Snow thought defensively. Though he supposed everyone looked little to Alligator. _Guess they're called bigwings for a reason_.

"OH, that reminds me," Alligator suddenly said. "Hey Amber, you _gotta _meet my clawmate. He's a real riot. HEY SALMON!"

A frustrated IceWing marched towards them. He had icy blue scales, with long and elegant spines lining his back, and a shiny sapphire-infused necklace draped around his neck. His piercing blue eyes caused Snow to immediately recognize him as the IceWing who glared at him in the Prey Center and scared him away… He instinctively tightened his wings around himself in response. The pale blue dragon was quite large in his own right, but not nearly as big as Alligator; a fact that seemed to endlessly frustrate the IceWing as he was forced to look up to meet Alligator's eyes.

"What do you want, MudWing," he snarled through gritted teeth.

"Whoa now, no need for the hostility friend," said Alligator with his unfaltering grin. "You shouldn't be so impolite…" He leaned in close to Salmon's face, who broke his perfect posture to stagger back slightly. "You know alligators _eat_ salmon right?"

"I – wha –"

His stammering was cut short by Alligator's boisterous laughter. "Look at how easily he gets flustered! It's like he doesn't know how to talk to anyone that isn't as hoity-toity as he is."

Snow had to admit, it was honestly impressive to see Alligator disarm the IceWing so effortlessly. It was the first time he'd ever seen an IceWing flushed with embarrassment, and it was the IceWing that Snow had been so terrified of, no less. _His blush is blue_, Snow noted. _I guess that's what I look like when I'm embarrassed too._ IceWings had blue blood after all.

Salmon growled. "I can't believe they put a Second Circle dragonet in the same sleeping cave as a swamp dweller."

"I don't know what you mean by a second circle, but the swamp is a great place to live," Alligator defended.

"Ugh, you really are an imbecile."

"Hey! What did we say about being impolite? You're lucky you're so easy on the eyes."

Salmon's expression contorted into outrage as a deeper shade of blue flooded his face. Alligator let out another laugh at his reaction.

"Gah! I'm leaving," spat Salmon as he began to stomp out of the cave.

"Wait! Come back and dance with me!" yelled Alligator as he chased after him.

The teacher apparently did not think it was worth his time stopping the two dragons from leaving class. He didn't even look up from his scroll.

"…Are all your siblings like that?" Cliff asked.

Amber shrugged. "More or less."

Cliff grabbed one of the hung guitars off of the craggy wall. He sat on his hindquarters with the instrument comfortably laying on his lap.

"Well now that that's out of the way," Cliff said as he plucked each string and tweaked the pegs at the top of the guitar, "I'm gonna sing a song. This one's easy so I can teach it to you if you like it, Snow."

He began strumming expertly, with his fingers deftly changing positions on the fretboard. What was even more impressive was that he managed to keep his claws from getting in the way despite the rapid movements he was making.

"_The dragonets are coming,_" he sang with a soothing, and yet somehow striking voice. He wasn't just bragging when he said he was good at singing.

_He looks so… happy_, Snow noticed. The smile across his snout felt more genuine than usual.

As he continued, others began to take notice. A small crowd of impressed dragons formed around Cliff. Apparently the song he was singing was quite well known, because some of the others started to sing along. Some started dancing too.

As impressive as Cliff was, Snow was starting to get overwhelmed by being in the middle of a crowd of spirited dragons. He slinked out of the mob and made his way towards a quieter corner, where he could watch in peace.

"Holy cow," Green said from his concealed position in Snow's bag. "Look at all those oversized instruments. Can you let me out so I can take a look at them?"

"Green, you know I can't do that," Snow said sympathetically, looking around to make sure no one could hear him. "It's dangerous. This isn't like history class where everyone is stuck in their seats."

"Ugh, you're way too paranoid Snow," he groaned.

"Better safe than sorry."

"Um, Snowball?" said a feminine voice. "Were you talking to someone?"

Snow frantically looked around for the source of the voice, but was unable to see anyone else.

"Wh-who said that?" Snow called out cautiously.

"Oh, right, sorry," replied the voice. Suddenly the slender form of Pear appeared in front of Snow, as green and purple colored her cloaked scales. "Didn't realize I was still camouflaged."

_I heard RainWings could blend into their surroundings, but I didn't expect them to be practically invisible_, Snow marveled. _Wish I could do that…_

"Sooo, what are you doing back here in the corner talking to yourself?" Pear asked.

"O-oh, um, I was just trying to get away from the crowd. I get nervous when there are too many dragons around."

"You know, it's kinda strange for an IceWing to be so nervous all the time," she pointed out, curiously circling around him. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, super proper all the time?"

"Well… it's even stranger for a RainWing to be nervous all the time," Snow countered.

"I'm not nervous _all_ the time," she frowned.

_That's true. She's acting pretty confident right now,_ Snow realized._ I could've sworn she was the anxious type._

"I'm only nervous when I'm around one… particular dragon," Pear said carefully.

"Well, why are you hiding in the corner if you're not nervous?"

"Singing and dancing isn't really my thing," she shrugged.

"Really? I thought all RainWings liked music."

"I _do _like music." Pear traced the metallic rim of a nearby drum with her claw. "…I'm just more interested in knowing how the instruments are made."

She sighed. "But you're right, I shouldn't be hiding." She stared longingly at the crowd of dragons, her eyes glued to Peacemaker, who was goofily dancing to Cliff's song.

_I suppose Peacemaker is the 'particular dragon'. It makes sense why I've only ever seen her nervous since I'm usually around him_, Snow reflected.

His attention unconsciously shifted to Cliff. His voice really was amazing. And he was so good at playing the guitar too. _Is there anything that he _can't _do_, Snow wondered. He could probably watch him happily sing all day…

Snow was so deep in his trance that he failed to notice Green sneak out of his bag and walk over to a pair of maracas. It wasn't until the scavenger grabbed one that Snow had realized what occurred.

Green began to shake the maraca in rhythm with the song. It was half the size of Green's entire body, which made the interaction look very comical. But Snow wasn't amused.

He rushed over quickly and snatched the instrument out of his hands, but it was too late. Several dragons were staring at them now. Snow felt himself shrink as each of the glares battered him, before he redirected his own gaze angrily at Green.

"Oh come on, it's a _giant maraca_. How could I _not_ run up and try it?" Green reasoned.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Snow looked up to find the menacing form of Barb standing directly behind Green. _Uh oh_.

The SandWing looked down towards them both with disdain. _And I'd been doing such a good job of avoiding her up until now. Thanks a lot, Green._

"You should get a leash for your pet," Barb hissed. "If he keeps coming out like this, I just might have to eat him."

Snow froze. _Eat… him?_ his mind echoed.

As he finally finished processing what he heard, Snow felt something deep within him push its way to the surface. Something beyond the fear that usually plagued him. Images of Green being eaten bombarded his mind. It was something he always tried to avoid thinking about, but Barb's words had forced it to the forefront of his mind.

He felt ill to his stomach, but even more than that, he felt angry. Angry that she would even insinuate something that unspeakably awful. Suddenly, Snow realized he was growling. A low, throaty growl that was quiet, but thrummed deafeningly in his ears. He couldn't even hear the music anymore.

His eyes were locked with Barb's, who gave him a cautious, and somewhat surprised look. His serrated claws scraped against the rocky floor as he curled his fingers inwards, leaving shallow grooves in their wake.

"Don't even joke about that," he finally said, each word dripping with malice he didn't even know he had.

Barb studied Snow for what seemed like an eternity, inspecting the smaller dragon's aggressive posture. In the end, she decided to back up and walk to a different corner of the cave.

The few dragons who were not-so-subtly watching the scene unfold silently rejoined the rest of their classmates.

"Um, are you all right Snowball?" Pear asked uneasily. The green in her scales seemed to have gotten paler.

"I'm fine," Snow replied curtly. "I need to take a walk."

Before she could say anything else, Snow grabbed Green (a little more coarsely than usual) and walked out of the music cave. The teacher clearly didn't mind when Salmon left so Snow had no problem leaving early.

He walked in silence, trying to shake off the fury and the sick feeling in his belly. Thank the moons that the tunnels were empty this time of day. He did not want to deal with other dragons right now.

"I've never seen you angry before," Green finally spoke up.

"I've never _been_ angry before," Snow responded. _Not like this anyway._ "It feels awful."

He could still hear his heart pounding and his blood pumping, even though it was starting to quiet down now. Worst of all, his entire body felt really warm. Not a pleasant warmth like from a fire, but a sickly warmth that made him feel uncomfortable in his own scales.

"I'm sorry," said Green.

"You should be," he shot back. "That was really stupid of you Green."

Green deflated a little in his grasp. He looked guilty enough that Snow didn't press the issue any further.

"SNOW!" called a voice from the direction of the music cave.

Snow turned back to see the familiar figure of Cliff racing towards him. When he caught up, he took a minute to catch his breath before speaking. "Are you okay?" he panted.

"I'm fine," Snow answered with a little more frustration than he meant, which caused Cliff to recoil slightly. _Don't let the anger bleed into your conversation with Cliff_, Snow warned himself. The SkyWing had been nothing but kind and helpful.

"Weren't you performing that song for the class?" Snow asked. "Why did you stop?"

Cliff waved his talon dismissively. "It's fine. They'll be all right. And I was playing the song for you anyway, so it seemed pointless to continue."

"…Sorry," mumbled Snow.

"I should be the one apologizing. I started the song for you but then I got swept up in the attention and didn't even notice you were gone." He wrapped his tail around his front talon and looked down towards them. "Pear filled me in on what happened. I'm really sorry Snow, I wasn't there to protect you and Green like I said I would."

Snow wasn't expecting him to look so… guilt-ridden. _Did he take his promise to protect us that seriously?_

Snow couldn't trust his tone of speech not to sound angry at the moment, so he instead opted to wordlessly lean into Cliff, resting his head on the SkyWing's shoulder. He was surprisingly warm as he returned the gesture by leaning into Snow. It filled him with the same feeling he got whenever he basked in the sunlight… much better than the sickly warmth he was previously experiencing.

"…So you're not mad at me?" Cliff asked, pulling back to face Snow.

Snow shook his head. "Of course not. Nothing happened. I just overreacted."

Cliff looked visibly relieved, relaxing his wings slightly. "Well, I promised I'd teach you guitar. Are you still interested?"

"Maybe some other time. I gotta… cool off a little." Snow was very unaccustomed to being angry.

"Aren't you always cool? Because, you know, you're an IceWing."

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Snow asked amusedly. "Because that was terrible."

"Well it made you smile," Cliff pointed out with a grin of his own. "I like it when you smile."

Strangely enough, Snow _was _feeling a lot better ever since Cliff showed up.

"By the way, I didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but you have a really good voice," Snow said.

"I get that a lot," he said smugly, puffing his chest out with pride. "…But it's nice to hear it coming from you."

There was a brief bout of silence, before Cliff turned his gaze towards the scavenger at Snow's side.

"…Green is really important to you huh?" he asked, though it felt a little more like a statement than a question.

"Yes," Snow answered sternly. "He's like family to me… He understands me better than anyone else."

Cliff made a perplexed face. _Oops_, Snow thought. _That might have been a little suspicious. _

"Hey Snow," Cliff started slowly. "Is there something you're not telling me about Green and yourself?"

Snow felt his eyes shoot wide open._ Don't look so shocked! Act natural!_ he reprimanded himself. "Uh, I – I don't –"

"Sorry," Cliff interrupted. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

His gentle words eased Snow's panic slightly… but only slightly. "Th-thanks. But I don't have a secret or anything, if that's what you're thinking…" he lied.

Cliff smiled in response, though Snow could sense melancholy in his expression. "I'll work hard to make sure you can trust me someday," he said.

Snow felt his stomach twist with guilt. It wasn't that he didn't trust Cliff, or even Peacemaker… he was just worried about how they would react. He really valued their friendship, so why take such a risk?

_But that's not fair for them_, said a different part of Snow's brain. _If I keep lying to them for my own selfish reasons, how can I expect to call them my friends?_

"Cliff, can you go and tell Peacemaker that I want to see you both at the sleeping cave after class is over? I… I have something I want to talk about," Snow said.

Cliff gave him a serious nod in return, but Snow noticed his tail twitch slightly with excitement.

_Tonight… I'm going to tell them my secret_.


	12. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: So Tui's new book about scavengers called Dragonslayer has been released (it's super good and you should all definitely read it). Unsurprisingly, it totally conflicts with a lot of the rules and canon I came up with for this fic (most notably, scavenger and dragon communication, but a number of other things as well). So technically, this fic now takes place in an alternate universe I think? But that's okay! I always had a feeling it would come to this. The fic should still hold up when read with every other book except Dragonslayer, so if you just ignore that book's existence, we can keep pretending like this all makes canonical sense. I hope you can still enjoy the fic!_

* * *

**~ CHAPTER 11 ~**

Snow always knew he wouldn't be able to keep his secret from his clawmates for too long; they were living with him and Green, after all. It was only a matter of time before they started getting suspicious.

But he didn't expect it to happen so soon. It had been barely over a week since he arrived at Jade Mountain Academy, yet here he was, nervously pacing around his sleeping cave and trying to prepare his reveal.

_Gah, if it wasn't for my stupid outburst at the music cave_, Snow reflected. That was suspicious enough itself, but then he just _had_ to tell Cliff that Green was like family to him.

"Family?" Snow muttered aloud. "Who says their pet scavenger is like family? 'He understands me better than anyone else'? Why am I so stupid?"

"Yeah that was pretty suspicious," Green agreed unhelpfully. "But it was also very sweet. Good to see you're still the same big softie you always were."

"I don't have time for your teasing Green," Snow said, furrowing his brow at the scavenger. He was still a little mad at Green, but he had other things on his mind now. "They're gonna be here any minute."

"You don't have to tell them, you know."

"I can't keep it a secret for much longer. Cliff's already onto us after all the times I messed up. I'd rather them find out from me than figure it out on their own."

"I seriously doubt they'll figure it out," Green said. "Being able to talk to scavengers isn't exactly… possible. It's probably fairly low on their 'List of Reasons Why Snow is Acting Weird.'"

"Well I also _want_ to tell them. I don't want to keep lying and betraying their trust. I just…" he drifted off, pacing even faster than before.

"You just what Snow," Green finally asked. "What are you even afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that they won't want to be my friend anymore!" he cried, halting his marching with a stomp. "Do you know how lucky I am to have them want to be my friend? I was so scared when I got here that no one would like me. But _they_ do! They saw me and all my flaws and still decided they want to be my friend. I …I don't want to risk that."

"Snow, you're not risking their friendship," Green said tenderly. "Telling them you can understand scavengers won't change anything."

"You don't know that! They might think I'm crazy, or delusional, or that I'm weird. Or maybe they'll tell everyone, and then I'll get kicked out of the school, or maybe they'll take me into a lab and dissect me to figure out where my power comes from," Snow rambled, before falling to the ground and throwing his wings over his head.

_So many things can go wrong,_ Snow thought frantically. _Maybe I should come up with a lie instead… No! You're doing this Snow. You're doing it for them; they deserve to know the truth._

"…I really hope they'll still like me," Snow mumbled from beneath his wings.

Silence.

_That's odd_, Snow thought. _Green usually doesn't let me wallow in self-pity like this without piping in. Maybe he finally got sick of my whining and left. I wouldn't blame him._

"Uh, Snow?" said a voice that was distinctly not Green's. "Are you okay?"

Snow threw his wings off of his eyes and shot up, only to find Cliff standing over him with a concerned expression.

"Were you playing hide and seek?" asked Peacemaker, who was standing right behind Cliff. "You know, hiding under your wings isn't a very good hiding spot unless you're a NightWing."

"N-no, I was just… thinking about something." He looked over to Green, who was as still as a doll.

_Well this is not exactly how I wanted this to go, but it's now or never_, Snow thought with what little determination he could muster.

"I heard you talking to someone," Cliff said. "Were you talking to Green again?"

"Um, yes." _No point in hiding it now_, he thought. Though he still felt incredibly embarrassed about it.

"Snow," Cliff began gently, placing a talon on Snow's shoulder. "If something is bothering you, you know you can talk to us about it instead of your scavenger, right?"

"Yeah!" Peacemaker agreed. "Mom says I can cheer anyone up just by being around. If you're sad, just let me know and I'll stick to you like glue until you feel better."

Snow looked at his two friends and the kind expressions on their faces. _They really care about me_. His anxieties waned a little and were replaced by a growing feeling of conviction. _These are dragons I can trust, that I _should _trust. It's only fair they know the truth_. He closed his eyes, feeling the warm palm of Cliff's talon on his shoulder, and took a deep breath.

"Cliff, Peacemaker. There's something I have to tell you, but it's very important that you don't tell anyone else. It would be… bad if this secret got out."

Peacemaker looked very excited at the prospect of learning a secret, while Cliff suddenly grew serious and gave Snow a nod… though the twitching of his tail indicated that he was similarly enthusiastic.

"I have a… unique ability," Snow said. He briefly considered calling it a superpower, but quickly dismissed the idea. _Superpowers are for heroes_.

"What kind of ability?" Peacemaker asked, barely able to contain himself.

Snow had been preparing for this moment for a very long time. Long before he got to the academy and met Cliff and Peacemaker. He knew that one day he would have to reveal his secret to someone. He brainstormed the best way to prove he could understand scavengers before finally settling on the strategy he was about to employ.

He raised a talon and covered both of his eyes. "I'd like you guys to hold up any amount of your fingers. And don't tell me how many you're holding up."

"…Okay," Cliff said slowly. He heard a little shuffling as they both (presumably) followed his request.

"Green, tell me how many fingers they're holding up," Snow said out loud. If he hadn't been covering his eyes, he'd surely see some very confused faces right now.

"Cliff is holding up two fingers and Peacemaker is holding up four," Green answered loyally.

"Cliff has two fingers up, and Peacemaker has four," Snow repeated, before removing his talon from his eyes and seeing the astounded expressions of his clawmates as they held the exact amount of fingers he'd said.

"Three moons…" Cliff gawked with his mouth hung open. It was amusing to see him be the impressed dragon for once. "That wasn't just a guess was it?"

"I can do it as many times as it takes for you to be convinced," Snow said.

"I can't believe this," Peacemaker began. His eyes were wider than Snow had ever seen. "You… you've got x-ray vision!"

"What? No Peacemaker. He can understand Green," Cliff corrected.

"Oh. OH. That's WAY more awesome."

Snow laughed. He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting, but he was pleased with the results. Neither dragon looked outraged or distrustful at the revelation. _So far so good_.

"So… do you believe me?" Snow asked cautiously.

"I believe you," Peacemaker said. "You don't seem like the pranking type of dragon."

"And you provided some pretty compelling evidence," Cliff added. "You're too nice to lie about something like this anyway. I trust you."

Snow's heart swelled with happiness. _Maybe all that worrying was for nothing after all…_ But he still had one question left to ask.

"Do… do you still want to be my friends?" asked Snow, his voice getting progressively quieter throughout the question.

Every muscle in his body was tense as he went against the instinct to look down towards the floor and avoid their gaze. Instead, he looked them straight in the eyes and awaited their response.

Both of them looked… very puzzled. Peacemaker cocked his head and said, "Uh, yeah? Why wouldn't we?"

"Snow," Cliff started, "did you think we'd stop being your friend if you told us that you can understand scavengers?"

"M-maybe," Snow replied, feeling a little embarrassed under the confused looks of his clawmates.

Cliff shook his head with a smile. "You really worry too much, you know that? You can put your fears to rest. Knowing you have a hidden superpower hasn't made me like you any less."

"Same here!" Peacemaker said.

It felt like the weight of the entire continent was lifted off of his shoulders. _They still like me!_ Snow thought, a warm feeling emanating from his belly and spreading throughout his body.

"Told you," Green piped in with a thumbs up.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Cliff asked. "I mean, I suspected _something_ was up when you were whispering to Green in history class, and when you got really mad at Barb. But I had no idea it would be this."

"I didn't want you to think I was crazy," Snow confessed.

"Why would we think you're crazy?" Peacemaker asked.

"No, Snow's right about that," Cliff said. "A lot of dragons probably would think you're mad if you told them that. Which is why we should keep this a secret between the three of us for now."

"Four of us," corrected Peacemaker, smiling at Green. Green returned an even bigger grin at the dragon.

"Wow he smiled back, oh boy do you think I could be friends with him Snow?" He looked to Snow with pleading eyes.

"You shouldn't be asking me that. Green isn't a brainless pet, you know. He's just as smart as the rest of us, so you'll have to ask him if you want to be his friend."

Peacemaker's eyes sparkled as he finally began to understand what Snow had been trying to explain. He turned to Green and lowered his head so that their eyes were level with each other.

"Hello Green, my name is Peacemaker. Would you like to be my friend?" He extended a talon.

Green looked at the dragon with amusement, before nodding his head and putting his hand out to meet the (much larger) talon.

Peacemaker's face lit up with joy, the corners of his mouth nearly reaching his eyes. "This is the best thing that has ever happened in my entire life, I can't wait to tell my mom and oh wow his paw is so soft."

He picked up the scavenger and pressed him against his chest in what Snow could only assume was supposed to be a hug.

"Easy now buddy, I'm still just flesh and bone," Green exhaled as he was suddenly being smothered by the over-excited dragon.

"Oh! He just said something didn't he? What did he say Snow?" His large expectant eyes met Snow's.

"Um, he said 'Easy now buddy, I'm still just flesh and bone.'"

"Oh sorry." He loosened his grip. "Wait, he said 'buddy'? As in me?"

"Yes you," Snow replied, unable to hide his enjoyment as he watched the scene unfold.

Peacemaker continued to chat with Green (or rather, chat _at _Green), showing him his strawberry collection and telling him about his home in the rainforest. He asked Snow a few times to translate what Green said, and Snow was happy to oblige. He was more than pleased with how his friends handled the reveal.

Cliff was still silently awe-stricken off to the side, and had a face that looked like his mind was processing too much information at once.

Snow lightly tapped his shoulder with his wing. "You okay, Cliff?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Your power is amazing Snow," Cliff responded with his usual smile.

"You look a little shaken up about it though," Snow observed.

"I do?" Cliff said, looking surprised that Snow had noticed. "Well, it sort of changes everything we know about scavengers, doesn't it? My uncle loves his scavengers… but only as pets. He treats them well, but now I can't help but think that they might not want to be there. I mean, up until five minutes ago, I didn't even think they were capable of thinking something that complex, but now…"

"I know what you mean," Snow said. "Before I knew scavengers were intelligent, I thought nothing of the scrolls that mentioned hunting and killing and eating them. But now they make me feel ill. Each and every one of those scavengers had a life, a family, hopes and dreams. All cut short by a dragon who didn't know any better."

Cliff gave Snow a thoughtful look. "You're right. It's not fair for them."

Snow sighed and lowered his head in agreement. _Poor scavengers, I wish they didn't have to suffer._

"So what are you planning to do about it?" Cliff asked.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Snow asked.

"Well you know what the scavengers are going through. You can't just stand by and let it continue, right?"

"But… what can I do about it?" Snow replied, pulling his wings tighter into his side. "What can one timid, talentless, unconvincing dragon do?" _If only someone like Cliff had gotten my power instead._

"You convinced me though."

Snow saw his unfaltering golden eyes stare deep into his own, filled with determination.

"You're not as talentless and unconvincing as you think. And besides," he wrapped his large wing around the withdrawn dragon, "you've got me to help you now. I don't know if you know this, but I'm pretty influential, being a prince and all."

The warmth of Cliff's wing around him made Snow feel like he was sitting close to a cozy campfire. He looked up towards Cliff and saw his comforting smile. _Maybe I can do something to help them after all_, Snow thought.

"Not to mention, Peacemaker seems to be pretty on board as well," Cliff said, pointing to the dark dragon. Peacemaker had been enthusiastically sharing some of his strawberries with Green.

"Hey guys! Look at this strawberry, it's exactly the size of Green's head!" he called from across the room, before refocusing his attention on the scavenger.

"You're not alone in this," Cliff continued. "It might take some time, but if you keep recruiting dragons to your side, eventually we'll be able to make a difference."

"Yeah… you're right," Snow said. "I just wish…"

He wanted to help scavengers more than anything, but he just didn't know if he was the right dragon for the job. Convincing others would require actually talking to them, and Snow had… some difficulty in conversing with strangers.

He looked to Cliff nervously, still wrapped in his wing. "Can… can you teach me to be more confident?" he asked timidly.

If he was able to become a little more like Cliff or Peacemaker, then maybe he'd be able to persuade other dragons.

Cliff pulled Snow in closer with his wing. "Of course. If that's what it takes, I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you Cliff."

The SkyWing gave him a warm and genuine smile. Snow was starting to notice a slight difference in Cliff's smiles; sometimes they felt a little more natural and sincere than usual, though he couldn't quite figure out what was different about them.

"And Snow," Cliff said. "…Thank you for trusting me, it means a lot."

Snow looked over the cave and his friends, both new and old. He came to the academy without any plans in mind for himself, but now everything was different. He had a goal. Even if it takes months or years, he was going to do everything he could to make it a reality.


	13. Chapter 12

**~ CHAPTER 12 ~**

Snow awoke from his slumber to the sound of laughter. Green's laughter, to be specific. _What's got him so amused this early in the morning?_ Snow thought. He rolled off the soft surface of his pillow and found that Green was not in his little room.

A brief (but extremely alarming) bout of panic coursed through Snow's mind, until he turned around to see that Green was sitting cross-legged in front of a very pleased Peacemaker.

"All right, how's this one," Peacemaker started, clearing his throat. "Why do dragons tell such good stories? …Because they have such impressive tails!"

Green began laughing hysterically; Snow wouldn't be surprised if the dragons in the sleeping cave next to them to woke up.

_It wasn't _that_ funny_, he thought to himself. _Well, Green has always been quick to laugh._ Peacemaker looked so delighted that Snow would never dare rain on his parade.

"Good morning Snow," said Peacemaker as Snow approached the duo. "I was just telling Green some jokes. Who knew scavengers would be such great audiences?"

"Snow, please tell this guy that he's hilarious," Green said, finally calming down from his laughing fit.

"Peacemaker, Green just told me to tell you he thinks you're hilarious," Snow said dutifully.

"Oh wow really?" Peacemaker beamed with his comically sized smile. "He really said that? You're not just messing with me?"

"Yes he really said it."

Peacemaker scooped Green up in his arms and placed him on his back, before merrily trotting around the cave.

"Well I'm glad to see you two are getting along," Snow said.

He really was glad. It almost felt like a dream that his clawmates took the truth so well, so he was half expecting to wake up and find everything in shambles.

"Yeah!" Peacemaker chirped. "I can't believe I have a friend that is an actual scavenger." He handed a strawberry to Green, who began chomping at it on his dragon seat. "Aaargh I want to tell _everyone_."

"…Please don't."

"Don't worry, I won't," Peacemaker said with a dismissive wave of his talon. "I'm great at keeping secrets!"

…_I feel like that's not entirely true,_ Snow thought.

"Hey! What makes you think I can't keep a secret?"

"I didn't say that," Snow defended.

"Well your expression definitely did," Peacemaker pouted. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do! It's just, you're very, um… talkative," Snow said carefully.

"But I would never do anything to endanger my friends," Peacemaker said. "That includes you two. I take this secret keeping business very seriously."

He had a stern look on his face, though it was somewhat undercut by the scavenger sitting on his back with a mouthful of strawberry.

"Thanks Peacemaker," Snow said with a smile.

"No problemo Snow," he replied, before returning his attention to playing with his new scavenger friend.

_All right, I better start preparing for… class…_ Snow's smile faded into a grim expression as he remembered what lesson he had today. He'd been dreading it ever since he first saw it on their class list. _Self-defense class_, Snow thought morosely.

Snow was able to get through most of the other classes by extensively reading up on the topic to catch up with what most other dragons already knew, but that wasn't possible to do for a class about fighting.

Snow was not a fighter. Well, he didn't think he was a fighter at least. He'd never fought before, but he was fairly certain that he'd be bad at it. Fighting is for heroes after all.

_I am going to be so humiliated today… and probably very hurt as well… maybe I'll even die…_

"You're worried about the class today, aren't you?" asked Peacemaker, who was now on his back with Green sitting on his belly.

"Yeah…" responded Snow absently, distracted by thoughts of impending doom. "I'm surprised you remembered that we have self-defense class today."

Peacemaker usually just followed Snow and Cliff to class, electing to let the lesson surprise him instead of looking at their class schedule.

"Oh cool! We have self-defense today? That's gonna be fun."

…_Apparently he _didn't _remember then_, Snow thought. "How did you know I was worried about class?"

"It's pretty easy to tell what you're thinking sometimes." He put Green down on the ground and rolled over to stand on his feet. "But you really have nothing to worry about. I heard from Bear that self-defense class is super fun. You get to scuffle with other dragons and stuff."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." Snow's tail instinctively wrapped itself around his front talons, as he imagined having to brawl with someone as large as that huge RainWing Bear, or moons forbid, someone like Amber's brother Alligator.

"It's gonna be all right Snow. Play-fighting is fun! Every dragon does it. It's in our nature or something. We used to do it all the time back in the rainforest, and I'm sure every other tribe does it too."

"But I was raised all alone… and the only other dragon I ever saw was my sister… who was way too big. Am I the only dragon who hasn't ever fought before?" Snow asked with alarm.

"Yeah, probably."

Snow's stomach sank.

"All right maybe that wasn't the right thing to say," Peacemaker reflected after seeing the unbridled terror on Snow's face. "I'm pretty sure you'll be safe, cause they don't let us use our claws."

_Okay… that's good news at least._

"And hey!" he continued, nudging Snow's shoulder with his own. "Maybe you and I will be paired up to fight each other. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Yeah… that doesn't sound too bad."

Peacemaker furrowed his brow. "Well you didn't have to look _so _relaxed at the idea of fighting me," he said. "I can be strong and scary."

Green laughed.

"Hey!" Peacemaker frowned at the scavenger, though it was very obvious that he was pleased to have made Green laugh again.

"Oh, I better wake Cliff up," Snow said.

"Want me to wake him up for a change?" Peacemaker offered.

"No it's fine, I got it."

Snow flew up to the raised rocky ledge where his SkyWing friend lay sleeping amidst a pile of plump pillows.

Snow had been waking Cliff up every day since the beginning of their time at the academy. Not that Snow minded of course; he was more than happy to help. _Guess he's just a late riser… and a very deep sleeper if Green's raucous laughter couldn't wake him up_, Snow thought.

Cliff's peaceful, slumbering face made it very difficult for Snow to actually go through with the act of waking him up. The way his chest would rise and sink with each restful breath, and how there was a little bit of smoke that escaped his snout every once in a while. _I wonder what he's dreaming about…_

"Hey Snow! Are you gonna wake him up or keep staring?" Green called from below.

"Right, sorry," Snow replied, before turning his attention back to Cliff. "Hey Cliff, it's time to wake up," he said in as soothing a voice as he could manage.

Cliff stirred, opening his eyes ever so slightly. "Morning Snow," he mumbled, rolling onto his talons and yawning. "Thanks for waking me up."

"You don't have to thank me every morning, Cliff," Snow said, though he appreciated the gratitude.

"Well you don't have to wake me up every morning, yet you still go out of your way to do that," he pointed out groggily. "Saying 'thank you' isn't very difficult, and also I can tell it makes you happy."

"Geez, is it that obvious?"

"Yes," Cliff said with a lazy smile, before hopping down to the floor. "Good morning Peacemaker."

"Morning Cliff," he replied, before looking pointedly at Green.

"Oh, right. Er, good morning Green," Cliff said. "Almost forgot we had that entire revelation about scavenger's being capable of understanding and processing complex thoughts and ideas last night… Might take some getting used to."

* * *

The three of them (and Green) made their way to the self-defense classroom, which was actually not a classroom at all, but instead a wide open-faced plateau on the top of the mountain. It had a great view of the surrounding forest, which was accompanied by the sounds of skittering wildlife as they enjoyed their daily pursuits. The smell of fresh air and the vivid sunlight beaming on Snow brought him a moment's respite from the anxiety of having to brawl with other dragons, but it didn't last long.

To his surprise and terror, he saw several unfamiliar dragons waiting on the plateau. _It's a joint class_, Snow realized. His initial plan for the class was to try and partner up with Cliff or Peacemaker (they'd probably go easy on him), or even Pear or Amber (Pear would pity him and Amber probably wouldn't put too much effort in a fight). Tide would of course give the battle her all and probably crush Snow, and he didn't want to even think about what Barb would do.

But now, there were seven more dragons. Seven unknown variables. Snow didn't know anything about them at all. _They might all be merciless and cruel and unconcerned about squashing a weak, pathetic dragon –_

"Calm down Snow," Green called from within the bag on Snow's back, as Snow's nervous quivering shook him. "Think about it rationally. We haven't seen any hurt dragons walking around even though lots of others have been through this class. That means nobody has gotten seriously injured."

"But I'm the weakest dragon here. If there's anyone that would get hurt from this, it'd be me."

"Have faith in the teachers Snow. They wouldn't let anything get out of hand," Green pointed out.

_Okay… that's true… Who's the teacher for this class anyway?_ Snow thought to himself.

As if on cue, a large MudWing ascended from the tunnel and made his way to the plateau. He was broad and muscular, sporting deep brown scales that reminded Snow of the color of soil after a long shower of rain. He was one of the largest dragons Snow had ever seen, and yet, somehow Snow didn't feel the slightest bit intimidated.

Hushed whispers sprinkled throughout the crowd as he approached the front of the class, and Snow was able to pick up on the word 'Clay' from various murmurs.

"Is that… Clay?" Green asked breathlessly.

"I suppose it is," Snow replied. He looked about the same as how Snow pictured him. _Very heroic and kind_.

"I can't believe it. He's right there. This is crazy. Do you think he'd be weirded out if I asked for his autograph," Green rambled.

Ever since they'd read the first scroll detailing the adventures of the Dragonets of Destiny, Green had been obsessed with Clay. Something about his loyalty and bravery really struck a chord with Green. He had been waiting for the chance to meet him and see him in all his glory.

"Yes, I think he'd be weirded out if a scavenger asked for his autograph," answered Snow.

"Darn. Can you ask for it instead?"

"Green, I know you're a big fan, but is this really the best time?"

"Right, sorry. I'll be quiet now," Green said, though Snow could feel him fidgeting in the bag.

Green had been acting a little more… obedient ever since the encounter during music class. _He must've felt pretty bad about what happened_.

Snow noticed a nasty scar on the side of one of Clay's legs as he walked along the plateau with a slight limp. _I wonder where he got that from._

"Are you wondering about the scar?" Peacemaker chimed in. "It's a crazy story. So during the final confrontation with the three SandWing princesses, he –"

"AHH! SNOW! Tell him to stop! We haven't gotten to that part yet and I don't want to be spoiled," Green cried manically.

Peacemaker stopped on his own, probably having heard Green's shouting. "…Green's not a fan of that story?"

"Oh no, it's the opposite. He's a huge fan of Clay and the dragonets, we just haven't gotten to that part of their story." Snow was glad Green spoke up; he also didn't want to know the ending yet (but he would've let Peacemaker keep going anyway out of politeness).

Clay cleared his throat, and all the dragons turned their attention towards him.

"Welcome, Diamond Winglet and Ruby Winglet, to your first self-defense class. My name is Clay, and I'll be teaching you how to defend yourself from threats. Now threats come in many different shapes and forms, but most harm comes from other dragons. Even though the war is over, it's important to be able to protect yourself. Some dragons are violent, and refuse to accept the era of peace that has occurred.

"For today's class, you'll be fighting another dragon. To keep it as fair as possible, I've arranged it so each dragon will be fighting a member of their own tribe from the other winglet."

_Oh…_ Snow thought as a new wave of dread enveloped him. _All that worrying was for nothing, ha ha. I should've known I'd end up with the worst-case scenario anyway._

He scanned the small gathering of dragons for his IceWing opponent, and accidentally locked eyes with her. Apparently she'd already been looking at him. Her scales were a crystalline blue, and her eyes were grey like storm clouds. The spines on her back and tail were long and had a strange crystal-like element to them. Her face was emotionless as she scrutinized Snow more thoroughly than he was comfortable with. _She looks like… a villain_.

"To win," Clay resumed, "you must pin your enemy for three seconds. Remember, the point of this exercise is to defend yourself, not to obliterate your opponent. You must try to pin your enemy while doing as little damage as possible. And also, no claws, biting, fire breath, frostbreath, venom or poison."

A few disappointed murmurs echoed through the crowd, though Snow felt a huge wave of relief. He was not very practiced with his frostbreath and was glad that he didn't have to use it.

Clay continued, going over a few more rules and specifics before finally instructing everyone to make their way to their respective arena. Sure enough, there were seven little circled out areas on the plateau, each marked with the name of one of the tribes. Several dragons began walking towards their appropriate positions.

"…Snow? You're looking a little faint there bud," Cliff observed. "You okay?"

"Cliff, Peacemaker," Snow gravely addressed his clawmates. "I'd like to thank you for being my friends. Please take care of Green for me when I'm gone."

"Snow, you're not going to die," Cliff sighed, though Snow could tell there was a hint of amusement in his expression. "But if you're that worried, I can go talk to Clay and tell him you don't want to fight."

"No way. That would be more embarrassing than dying." The thought crossed Snow's mind earlier, but his reputation would be in shambles if he was the only dragon who didn't fight.

"You're going to be fine Snow," Peacemaker said. "In fact, I bet you're not even going to lose! You have nothing to worry about. Cliff on the other talon… you should be careful. Watch your left side."

"I'm going to need to watch all my sides going up against Canary. She's definitely not holding back because we're friends. Good luck to you guys. And Snow, if things get too rough, it's okay to run away."

Snow nodded, watching Cliff make his way towards the other SkyWing.

"Well, it's now or never," Snow muttered as he stepped towards his opponent.

"Whoa now," Peacemaker called out, stopping Snow with his tail. "Are you planning on taking Green with you? I know you don't know much about fights, but there's usually a lot of rolling around and stuff."

"Oh, right. Of course. That would be very dangerous." _Geez, I'm really out of it today,_ Snow thought. "Um… where should I put him?"

"Why don't you leave him with Clay?" Peacemaker suggested. "He's not going to be doing any fighting and also he's very trustworthy."

"Okay, that seems like a good idea. Green, would you like to –"

"Yes," Green interrupted. "Yes I would like that very much."

_At least Green is having a good time_, Snow thought as he flew over to Clay. The MudWing was standing on an elevated ledge; high enough where he could oversee all the dragons during the fight (_and break up any that were getting too violent_, Snow hoped).

"Hey there. How can I help you?" Clay asked as Snow approached.

"Hi. I, um, I have a scavenger with me and I want to leave him with you while I'm fighting," Snow said, probably a little too quickly. He unlatched the bag on his back and gently pulled Green out.

"Oh, you're the dragon with the pet scavenger. I'd be happy to hold onto him… Uh, why is he making that face at me?" he asked.

Green's eyes sparkled as he inched closer towards Clay, cautiously reaching his hand out to touch the MudWing's scales. He had wonderment written all over his face. _Come on Green, be a little more subtle_.

"Sorry, he just gets like that sometimes. Don't let it bother you. But please keep him safe, he's very important to me."

"He's a brave little one, isn't he?" Clay said, lowering his head to inspect him. "I've never had a scavenger willingly come up to me before. This is pretty cool."

"Yeah he doesn't mind contact with dragons. In fact, he really likes it when you put him on your back."

"Oh, well in that case." Clay wrapped his tail around Green and gently lifted him up, placing the scavenger on his back. "How's that, little guy?"

"This is awesome! I'm so high up, I can see everything! Snow, you should get bigger as fast as possible so I can have this view all the time."

Snow rolled his eyes, though he was glad to see Green enjoying himself.

"Well, you've kept your opponent waiting long enough," Clay pointed out. "I'll keep your friend safe, so just focus on your battle. Good luck!"

The nerves came trickling in once more as Clay dragged him back to reality with his reminder. Snow nodded solemnly at the MudWing, before turning around to make his way to his opponent.


	14. Chapter 13

**~ CHAPTER 13 ~**

Snow carefully approached his self-defense class opponent, praying that she was not as frightening and villainous as she seemed. Her crystalline scales glimmered beautifully in the sun, radiating a gentle blue light that seemed to directly contrast with her outer, emotionless demeanor.

She stood perfectly still as she awaited his belated arrival, her body seemingly frozen in time, holding that ridiculously proper posture. If she was bothered by his dawdling, she didn't show it. In fact, she didn't show much of anything at all. It was a little unnerving.

As he entered their circular arena, she finally acknowledged his existence with a curt look. Her grey eyes were cold and piercing, and even though she kept her face neutral, Snow could sense her condemnation.

"Greetings. I am Shiver," she said, her face steeled and impassive. "What should I call you?"

"H-hello Shiver. I'm Snowball… but you can call me Snow."

"You want me to call you Snow?" she asked with barely concealed disdain. "Do you know how many 'Snow' names there are? Snowbird, Snowstorm, Snowflake. Even our Queen's name starts with 'Snow'. Do you honestly think you could monopolize the name 'Snow'? You're more arrogant than I thought."

"I'm s-sorry," Snow said, caught off-guard by her verbal barrage. He shrank in her disapproving gaze. _This was not the kind of attack I was expecting._ "I – I never thought about it like that… I've been the only 'Snow' around for most of my life because… well, you know…"

"Yes, yes I know. You're the estranged IceWing that got abandoned as an egg. It would be hard _not _to notice that. You're the most cowardly dragon I've ever seen, and that's not exactly typical for an IceWing."

"Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing. And stand up straight, will you?" She whipped her tail in front of Snow and used it to guide his body up until he was completely out of his shrunken state. He eyed the sharp spikes on her tail fearfully, though Shiver was very careful not to prick him.

"As much as I don't like it, you _are_ an IceWing. We have a reputation to uphold, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't look so pathetic all the time."

Each insult pierced Snow like an icy blade. He very much wanted to run away or hide behind someone, but that wasn't an option right now. All he could do was stand there and take the abuse. He could feel tears threatening to escape. _Oh moons, don't you cry Snow. That would be so embarrassing._

Apparently Shiver noticed his dejection, as her expression shifted from stern to pitying. _Wow Snow, you're so pitiful that you made an IceWing feel sorry for you. I should get an award for that._

"This is worse than I thought," she said. "You clearly have some deep-seated issues that need to be dealt with. No matter. I am sure that with time, I can turn you into a respectable IceWing like the rest of us."

"…No," Snow mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I said no," Snow repeated, louder this time "I don't want to be like the rest of you."

"Excuse me?" she said, looking somewhat shocked and affronted. It was the first time in the entire conversation she had shown more than the slightest hint of emotion.

"You're cold and cruel and scary. Why would I want to be more like you?"

"You little –" she started, before taking a deep breath and composing herself. "You don't know what you're saying."

"I think I do know what I'm saying," Snow scowled. "I know that I'd rather be a pathetic coward than a mean dragon like you IceWings."

"IceWings aren't 'mean', they're just direct," she said, releasing an exasperated sigh. "Let's make a deal; if you lose today's fight, you'll have to partake in my IceWing lessons, to become a dragon fit to represent our tribe."

"Fine!" Snow barked. "But if _you_ lose, then you'll have to let me give you kindness lessons, to learn how to be less of a jerk!"

"Very well, I accept your terms. I had initially intended to hold back during our scuffle, but now that the stakes are higher, I'm afraid I'll have to give it my all." She expertly shifted her stance to an offensive one, looking as though she was ready to pounce.

_Oh no_, Snow thought frantically. _What have I done? _

All the earlier adrenaline left him and he felt his body deflate. _Not only did I make her mad, but I also made a bet with her that I'm guaranteed to lose. I don't even want to know what an 'IceWing lesson' entails._

He was so caught up in the moment that he didn't think about the consequences. And now he had no time to think at all, as Shiver's indomitable form came charging towards him.

Snow flew upwards at the last moment, barely dodging her tackle. _That would've been so painful if it connected_, Snow thought uneasily. _Okay, don't panic. I can survive this_.

He landed on the other side of their arena. _I wish I could just stay in the air, but one of the rules that Clay mentioned was to keep flight to a minimum; aerial combat was going to be covered in another lesson_.

As soon as that thought had ended, Shiver was already stampeding in his direction. Snow managed to roll out of the way of her pounce, but she wouldn't let up for a second. Tackle after tackle came towards him, though Snow was able to scrape by with a dodge or a duck each time.

_All right, it looks like I'm just quick enough to dodge her attacks. But I can't win like this; I need to pin her down for at least three seconds before it's considered a victory. Luckily, she's only slightly bigger than me, so pinning her down shouldn't be impossible._

_After this next charge, I'll fly up and land on her back, and hopefully that'll be enough to keep her down for three seconds._

Snow prepared himself to roll as soon as Shiver got close, but she had gotten used to his dodges. As soon as Snow went to dive out of the way, she whipped her tail around one of his hind legs, causing him to trip onto the rocky floor.

_Uh oh._

In an instant, Shiver's entire body was on top of Snow's collapsed form. Snow winced in fear as she put her talons on his shoulders, but was relieved to find that she meticulously avoided getting her serrated claws on him. But even without using her claws, her grip was strong.

Snow squirmed desperately in her grasp, and to his surprise, actually managed to wiggle out of her clutches. _I can't believe that worked!_

"Gah! You're so deft and… slippery," Shiver complained. "Stop running away!"

_But that's all I know how to do!_ Snow thought as he flew over another one of her attacks. _She's right though, I have to try to pin her to win!_

Snow dove onto Shiver's back from the air, trying to put as much strength behind it as possible. Apparently, he didn't have very much strength at all. Shiver almost immediately threw him off her back.

"Agh!" Snow grunted as he landed wing-first on the cold floor. _Curse my relatively low body weight. I should've listened when Cactus told me to eat more._

Shiver approached the crumpled IceWing menacingly.

_I can't win, she's way stronger than I am. I'll never be able to pin her,_ Snow realized. _She's about to pin me again, and I doubt she'll let me slip out of her grasp again._ _Oh moons, here she comes – _

"TIME'S UP!" yelled Clay, halting Shiver in the middle of her charge. "Great work everyone, go ahead and shake talons with your opponent."

Snow could hardly believe his ears. The fight was over, and he wasn't injured at all! Sure, he didn't win, but he wasn't expecting to anyway. He was relieved that he didn't have to do the 'IceWing lessons' with Shiver at least.

But oddly enough, Shiver seemed very displeased. _Is she that upset that she doesn't get to teach me how to be a respectable IceWing?_

"Well fought, Snowball," she said, holding out her talon. Snow carefully shook it with his own.

"Uh, yeah. Well fought to you too," he said awkwardly.

"This is an unfortunate turn of events. I never imagined I'd have to take 'kindness lessons' from a craven IceWing."

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Snow asked. "It was a draw… you don't have to do the lessons."

Shiver sighed. "If only that were the truth. As much as I'd love to bend the contract that way and wash my talons of the matter, it's unbecoming of an IceWing to weasel out of a deal. The terms of agreement specifically stated that if I lose, then I'd have to take your lessons."

"…But it was a draw," Snow said again.

"A draw means neither side won. And if neither side won, then both sides lost."

_Geez, IceWings always have to make everything so hard on themselves. Wait…_ "Does that mean… since I also lost, do I still have to do your IceWing lessons?"

"Yes, of course," she said matter-of-factly. "I suppose that is a silver lining."

Snow's short-lived relief was quickly replaced by dread. Again.

"Oh stop looking so terrified, will you? IceWings are not as heartless as you think. Besides, I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of you teaching me to be kind either."

_Maybe if I teach her to be nicer before her lesson, then it won't be as bad? Oh who am I kidding, I can't teach her to be nice. I only said that cause I was caught up in the moment._

"I – I'm looking forward to working with you," Snow managed to squeak out.

"Well at least you seem optimistic. I'll be at your sleeping cave in a few days." She began walking towards the tunnel.

"How will you know where my cave is?" Snow called after her.

"I'll know," she replied with a wave of her talon, not stopping her exit.

_What a strange dragon, _he thought to himself as he watched her disappear into the mountain.

Snow looked around to find his friends, and noticed a small crowd gathering a little ways off. He was able to spot Clay's giant figure (and Green on top of him) amongst the crowd. Green looked… concerned. Snow hurried over to see what the commotion was about.

"Everyone, please give him some space," Clay said authoritatively. The small crowd began moving back and Snow was finally able to see what had gathered their interest. Cliff was standing in the center, with a terrible set of gashes on the left side of his torso. Blood was dripping out of the cuts. It almost looked as if the red of his scales were leaking onto the floor. Snow felt woozy just staring at it.

"Cliff…" a female SkyWing beside him spoke. She looked horrified at the sight. "I'm so sorry, I didn't –"

"Relax Canary," Cliff said, though his speech sounded labored. "I know you didn't mean to."

"But… you're bleeding a lot."

"It looks worse than it actually is," Cliff said, though the grunts after every other word led Snow to believe otherwise. "Don't worry about it, all right? It'll be gone by the morning."

Clay lowered his head to inspect the injury more closely. "Hmm, all right. It's just a surface wound. Nothing a tough guy like you can't handle," he said with a supportive (but gentle) pat on the back. "You'll be okay, but we should still get it bandaged up. We'll have your clawmates help you to the healing room."

"I can walk fine, that really isn't necessary," Cliff insisted.

But Peacemaker was already at his side, taking one of Cliff's arms and putting it over his shoulders to support him as they walked. "Come on buddy, let's get you to the healing room."

"…Okay," he surrendered quietly.

"You coming Snow?" Peacemaker asked. "I, uh, don't know how to get to the healing room."

"Y-yes, of course," Snow replied, trying not to feel too faint at the sight of Cliff's blood. He hastily retrieved Green from Clay, and the four of them made their way to the infirmary.


	15. Chapter 14

**~ CHAPTER 14 ~**

_I'm really glad I took the time to memorize the location of the healing cave_, Snow thought to himself as he escorted Peacemaker and an injured Cliff towards it. _But_ _I always imagined I would be the wounded one…_

Whoever designed the interior of the academy must have been thinking ahead, because the healing cave was actually quite close to the plateau where self-defense class took place. They didn't even run into any other dragons on the way there.

The trio entered the room, the smell of herbs and creams flooding their senses. Snow noticed that it was rather large, sporting many seats and beds neatly arranged around the interior, some of them even curtained off for privacy. Refreshing sunlight poured through the windows, and numerous diagrams detailing the internal workings of a dragon were hung on the walls.

It was completely silent, aside from the sound of rustling scrolls that came from the corner. Snow's gaze followed the noise to find an older, deep green SeaWing staring back at him. She wore a hardened expression, accentuated by her abnormally long horns. A bag hung around her chest that was packed with… something. _Medical supplies?_ Snow guessed.

"Ah geez, look at this mess," she said, putting aside the scrolls and approaching the dragons. "Well don't just stand there, get him on the bed."

Peacemaker attempted to hoist Cliff up onto the bed, but Cliff resisted and pushed him away.

"Seriously guys. I can get onto a bed by myself. I got scratched on my torso, my legs still work fine." He climbed onto the bed with some effort and laid on his back with the cuts exposed on his side.

"All right tough guy, care to explain how this happened?" she asked, examining the gashes.

"We were in self-defense class, and my opponent got a bit too caught up in the battle and clawed me a little. It's really no big deal."

"I see…" she said, continuing to inspect the wound very thoroughly, getting closer than Snow would've been comfortable with. "I'm always telling Clay that having dragons fight each other is asking for trouble. Some dragons just want to hurt others, but Clay is way too trusting to see that."

"It was an accident though," Cliff defended.

"Yeah, sure kid," the healer replied dismissively, digging through her bag for something. "The good news is, the cut is pretty shallow, so you'll be fine by tomorrow. The even better news is, you don't gotta go to the rest of your classes today. Congratulations."

Cliff didn't look too enthusiastic to hear that. "Do I really have to stay here all day? It's hardly a graze. I think we may be blowing things out of proportion."

"Unfortunately, your opponent has some sharp claws. Must've hit something important, cause you lost a decent amount of blood. You're probably fine, but it's best to let you relax for a little bit."

"But –"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm the doctor here. So how about you stop trying to tell me how to do my job and drink this orange juice instead?" She shoved a cup into his talon, the liquid within threatening to spill from the force.

Cliff sighed and stared into the cup, before drinking the juice resignedly.

The SeaWing turned towards Peacemaker and Snow. "Oh, you two are still here? Thanks for bringing him, but you can scram now. I've got things covered from here."

"U-um," Snow spoke up. "C-can I stay here with Cliff?"

"Hah! Nice try, but I'm not letting you get out of your classes that easily."

"It's not about that. I just don't want him to be lonely…" Snow said quietly, trying to make sure only the SeaWing could hear him.

Her expression softened a little for the first time. "That's sweet of you, kid," she said, patting Snow's head. "Don't worry, I'll be keeping him company."

"Okay… Th-thank you ma'am." He was disappointed that he couldn't stay, but also surprised by the sudden physical affection. _It feels kind of nice actually…_

"Call me Doctor Minnow. Ma'am is for old ladies. Now get outta here already."

"Bye Cliff!" Peacemaker said. "We'll catch you up on what happens in today's classes tomorrow!"

Doctor Minnow more or less pushed the two dragonets out of the room. Snow was able to catch one last look at Cliff. The SkyWing waved at him with a smile, though it wasn't hard to see the dejection hidden in his expression.

* * *

The rest of Snow's classes were fairly uneventful, though he did find himself missing the company of Cliff. Just thinking about him all alone in the infirmary was enough to keep Snow distracted. He was fortunate to have Peacemaker with him; the dark dragon doubled his efforts to amuse Snow, probably noticing his low spirits. Snow appreciated it, but his gloom stubbornly lingered.

As the school day drew to a close, Snow started waddling his way back to his sleeping cave, alone.

_Well, technically not 'alone,'_ he mused, feeling the weight of the scavenger inside his bag.

"Snow, if you keep worrying like this, you're gonna lose all your hair," Green said.

"I don't have hair, Green."

"Oh no! It's already happened! All that worrying finally caught up to you. Well you can't say I didn't warn you."

Snow kept trudging towards his sleeping cave in silence.

"Nothing huh?" Green probed. "This whole thing has you more down in the dumps than I thought."

"…I should've fought harder to stay with Cliff in the healing room," Snow lamented.

"Oh great. Here we go again. You always magically find a way to blame yourself for things that clearly aren't your fault. It's depressingly impressive."

"It's true though," Snow argued. "I shouldn't have given up so easily. Did you see his face when we got shoved out of the room?"

"Yes. He was smiling, Snow. You may not know this, but that usually indicates positive emotions."

"But it was a sad smile."

"A… sad smile?" Green repeated, as if trying to make Snow realize how ridiculous he sounded.

"Haven't you noticed that sometimes Cliff smiles and it's… kind of forced? And sometimes his smiles have… an extra _oomph _and they make him look happy. Like, actually happy."

"Snow… I think you may be looking into it a _little_ too deeply. You have a tendency to overthink things after all."

"Yeah, maybe," Snow admitted. _But it really feels true this time_. "We should go to the healing room and check on him."

"We're just gonna get kicked out again," Green pointed out.

"I'll be more persuasive this time. Doctor Minnow will let me stay."

Green sighed. "Well, at least drop your stuff off in the sleeping cave first. We're almost there anyway."

"Right." Snow quickened his pace, determined to see Cliff as soon as possible. Fortunately, he was fast approaching his cave.

He entered the room, only to find a bandaged Cliff resting in his bed of pillows.

"Cliff!" he beamed, flying up to perch himself on the rocky ledge that the SkyWing was laying on.

"Hey Snow," Cliff said with a smile. A genuine smile this time, though his voice sounded a little fatigued.

"I… I'm sorry," Snow said, dropping his gaze to his talons.

"Uh, for what?"

"For not staying with you at the healing room." Snow could feel Green grumbling from within the bag, but he ignored him.

To Snow's surprise, Cliff began laughing. He shook his head and said, "It'll be difficult, but I _guess_ I can forgive your heinous crime."

"I'm serious. I feel bad about leaving you there."

"You had no obligation to stay, Snow. And besides, I'm here now aren't I?"

"That's true," Snow conceded. "How did you manage to get out of the healing room anyway?"

"I snuck out."

"What?!"

"I'm kidding!" Cliff said, raising his talons in defense after seeing the terror on Snow's face. "Doctor Minnow would probably give me an injury twice as bad if I tried to give her the slip."

Snow let out a breath of relief. "Thank the moons," he muttered.

"She let me out because I was doing better. That, or because I was complaining too much and she got sick of me."

"Why were you in such a rush to leave the healing room anyway?" Snow asked.

"Because it was boring there. But as it turns out, it's boring here too! What do you do by yourself all day in here?"

"I'm not by myself usually. Green's with me." _Oh right, I should probably take him out of the bag._ Snow delicately let the scavenger out and placed him on the ledge.

"Hi Green," Cliff said, though it was clear that he still felt a little silly talking to a scavenger.

Green wordlessly waved back.

Snow anxiously eyed the scavenger and his proximity to the edge of the raised ledge. _Okay, this is not safe enough for comfort_.

He scooped Green in his talons and gently landed down on the cavern floor before letting him go.

"Hey!" Green protested.

"Sorry Green. The ledge is for dragons only."

"Fine," he pouted. "I'm going to my room." He stomped into his enclosure dramatically.

Snow knew he wasn't actually upset. In fact, he was probably glad Snow brought him down. Green had been really cracking down on learning how to read and write in dragon script. Snow had equipped him with some basic language scrolls from the library (apparently there are a lot of dragons who can't read either), and Green was determined to learn as best as he could.

The IceWing flew back up to the ledge. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Cliff responded. "It's still really endearing to see you being so protective of your pet– er, of Green."

"Well, I'd hate to see any of my friends get hurt…" Snow eyed the bandages covering Cliff's torso.

"I'm not _that_ hurt," Cliff said. "These bandages are overkill."

"How's the injury?"

"It's totally fine. The doctor said it'll be entirely gone by tomorrow if I apply this ointment." Cliff lifted a bottle from underneath one of his wings. It had a sloshy, clear liquid inside of it.

Snow recognized its minty scent. _Cactus had some of these in her medical supply kit back home. It always stung when she put it on one of my cuts… It's probably going to hurt a lot more for a cut this big._

"Have you applied it yet?" Snow asked.

"Well…" Cliff averted his gaze. "I, uh, I can't."

"You can't?" Snow echoed.

"I can't reach the gashes. With my arms."

"Oh." Now that Snow looked at it, they were in a really awkward position on his torso. He'd have to dislocate his arms to be able to reach it.

"So… can you do it for me?" asked Cliff.

"Apply the ointment? Sure."

Cliff looked relieved to hear that, much to Snow's confusion. "Did you think I'd say no?" Snow probed.

"Probably not. But it's hard to ask these kinds of things."

_It is? _he wondered. "Well, are you sure you want _me_ to do it? My talons are a little… cold. It might be uncomfortable. Maybe I can go find Peacemaker or one of your SkyWing friends to come and do it."

"No, I want it to be you Snow," Cliff insisted. "You're very gentle, so I think you'll be good at this. Also… it's kind of embarrassing, so I don't want one of my other friends to do it."

"All right. I'll do it if you don't mind the coldness." Truth be told, Snow liked feeling useful and helping out a friend. And this seemed like something that wouldn't be too difficult to do.

"I don't mind the cold. In fact, I like your cool touch," he said. "I always feel a little too hot, so your frostiness feels pleasant on my scales."

"I thought SkyWings loved the heat and hated the cold," Snow mentioned as he began untightening the lid on the jar of ointment. _That's what I read in the scrolls anyway._

"That's true for most SkyWings, I think. I guess I'm a little different."

"I'm the same way. I don't really like the cold like most IceWings."

"You don't?" Cliff asked, looking more surprised than Snow thought was necessary.

"It's probably because I wasn't raised in a freezing environment, but I much prefer the warmth of a fire, or a fire-breathing dragon's scales. You have a very soothing warmth yourself, Cliff. It's like sitting in the sunlight."

Cliff fell silent for a few moments. "That's funny. I thought I was bothering you whenever I got too close."

"That's ridiculous," Snow said as he removed the bandages and exposed the wound. It was definitely looking a lot better. "I don't mind at all."

"…Good to know," he muttered.

Snow dipped his talon into the jar and pulled out a talonful of goopy cream. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Cliff said, bracing himself.

Snow gently lowered his talon until he made contact with the cut, feeling the foreign gashes on his otherwise smooth scales. Cliff winced.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," grunted Cliff. "Keep going."

Snow did as he was told and started working his way across the wound.

_It looks like it really stings, and it's gonna take a while to cover all the cuts. Poor Cliff. Maybe if I talk to him while putting it on, it'll distract him from the discomfort_, Snow thought.

"So, uh… what's so embarrassing about having someone else put ointment on you anyway?"

"It's… emasculating," Cliff answered. "I don't want others to think of me as someone who gets hurt."

"And why is that?"

There was a short pause as Cliff struggled to find an answer. Eventually, he said, "I want to be seen as a dragon who's strong and reliable."

"Well you're doing a pretty good job so far," Snow complimented.

"Thank you," he responded, looking pleased for a moment, before turning his gaze down to his talons.

"And, um, just so you know," Cliff continued, fidgeting with his talons. "The only reason I got slashed was because Clay said 'time's up' and I thought Canary would stop her attack. But she didn't stop in time. So... don't start thinking I lost or that she's stronger than me or something."

"Don't worry, I wasn't thinking that."

"…Good," Cliff said curtly.

_I've never seen him act like this before. Maybe this fight has him more rattled than I realized,_ Snow pondered.

His eyes glazed over the wound once more, as he pressed his talon into it. _It's such a long wound, dragons really are dangerous._

"Did it hurt when she clawed you?" Snow asked.

"…Not really," answered Cliff.

"Are you lying?"

"What makes you think I'm lying?"

"I'm not blind. I can see it looks painful," Snow explained. "And you looked pretty hurt after it happened."

"Well if you knew it hurt, then why did you even ask?"

"I wanted to see if you'd lie."

Cliff furrowed his brow at the IceWing, before finally sighing. "Fine. I lied. I'm sorry."

"Why are you trying to act so tough?" Snow asked.

"Because… I don't want anyone to think I'm weak, Snow. Especially not you."

"Me?"

"I see the way you look at me sometimes, like I'm some sort of valiant hero. And I promised to protect you, but now…" He gestured to the injury. "You probably think I'm fragile and pathetic. And why wouldn't you? I got hurt in a practice fight. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

"Cliff…"

"Sorry, I'm being overdramatic. Ignore my ramblings." He rested his snout on his talons and let out another sigh.

_Was I putting all that pressure on him? _Snow reflected. _Also, is it that obvious that I see him as a hero? That's really embarrassing… But he's wrong about one thing._

"A hero isn't someone who doesn't get hurt," Snow began. "It's someone who defends others even if they know they might get hurt. Injury or not, you're a hero to me, Cliff."

"…Really?" Cliff asked quietly.

"Yes, really," Snow said, continuing to spread the ointment. "You're always protecting me from other dragons, even though you don't have to. And you check up on me to make sure I'm okay when I get nervous, and you say nice things to me calm me down or cheer me up. Did you really think some measly scratches were going to make me see you differently?"

Cliff looked down at his talons, silently fiddling with his claws. Snow noticed a small, bashful smile appear at the corner of his mouth. It was strange to see a smile so subtle on Cliff, who usually wore them proudly. _It looks kind of adorable._

"…You're super nice Snow," he said, not looking up for his talons. "I'm really glad we're friends."

A warm, bubbly feeling filled Snow's belly, and he found himself smiling as well.

"All done," he said, as he finished applying the last of the ointment. He stepped back to look at his handiwork. _Not bad_.

"Oh, it's over already?" Cliff said, looking back up to his wound. "Whoa, you're really good at that Snow, maybe even better than Doctor Minnow. I barely felt a thing. Seriously, you're amazing."

"Th-thank you," Snow said with his gaze held down, still not accustomed to receiving an onslaught of praise like this. "If you ever get hurt again, I'll help you put on as much medicine as you need. So… you don't need to be embarrassed okay?"

"All right. I won't be," Cliff said. He was looking a lot less weary now, as a wide smile covered his face.

He raised his talon and patted Snow's head.

Snow felt his face burn with embarrassment in response to the unexpected gesture. "Uh…" he droned, unable to find any words to react to the sudden patting.

Cliff laughed heartily. "Wow, that was more effective than I thought. I saw how pleased you looked when Doctor Minnow patted your head, so I wanted to try it out."

"It's a little different when an old lady is doing it…" Snow sputtered. _Thank the moons that Green didn't see that. He would've never let me live it down._ "G-give me a little warning next time."

"But then I would've missed out on your glorious reaction."

Snow frowned at him, though he suspected it was undercut by his embarrassed blush.

"Sorry," Cliff said, though his large smile indicated he didn't feel too apologetic. "I just wanted to thank you for doing a good job… and for everything else."

"You're welcome," Snow said. _And thank you too… for being friends with someone like me._


	16. Chapter 15

**~ CHAPTER 15 ~**

"Come on! Let's go already," said Peacemaker, impatiently trotting in place near the entrance of the sleeping cave.

"How can you have this much energy so early in the morning?" Cliff asked in between yawns, sluggishly dumping some scrolls into his pouch.

"We've got hunting class up first! How could anyone _not_ be excited about that?"

_I can think of a dragon who isn't too excited about that_, Snow thought to himself sullenly as he got his morning affairs in order, listening to his clawmates' exchange. _Can't believe they put hunting class the day after self-defense. Can't a dragon catch a break?_

"Hunting isn't as exciting as you're making it seem," Cliff said to Peacemaker. "You're just happy that it's not math or history class."

"Not true! Well, okay it's half true. But you're wrong about hunting not being exciting!" argued Peacemaker. "Do you even know how to hunt or did they just deliver food to you when you were in the palace?"

"I know how to hunt," Cliff huffed, sounding mildly offended. "I wasn't pampered and spoiled… _that_ much. Besides, what dragon doesn't know how to hunt?"

Snow felt a surge of shame flow through him, hoping that his clawmates wouldn't see his dejectedly drooping wings. _He's right. Every dragon should know how to hunt. _

But Snow was never any good at it. Despite the best efforts of Cactus, he couldn't quite master the art of hunting… or even get a base level of proficiency. Eventually, his sister decided to just hunt for him and leave piles of preserved food in his cave when she went out for extended periods of time.

She often said she regrets that decision, claiming that she should've kept trying to teach him instead of giving up and coddling him. Although Snow disagreed, it was hard to deny that there wasn't some truth to it.

_I doubt I would've ever gotten good at it anyway, because I'm a failure of a dragon. Hardly a dragon at all really… more like a big cow covered in scales._

"Come on Snow, no need to get so down on yourself," Peacemaker said, presumably noticing Snow's despondent appearance. "Being bad at hunting doesn't make you any less of a dragon."

"But… I'm _really_ bad at it," Snow mumbled. "I've never actually successfully hunted… anything."

"That's okay," Cliff said, nudging Snow's sagging shoulder with his snout. "I shouldn't have said everyone knows how to hunt. Different dragons have different circumstances."

Snow nodded silently.

"And besides," Cliff continued, throwing a wing over Snow's shrunken form and pulling him in. "We can help you out when we go hunting. It'll be fun."

Seeing Cliff's bright smile, Snow couldn't help but return his own. Being wrapped in Cliff's warm wing seemed to wash away all his self-deprecating thoughts.

"We're never even gonna get to hunt if you guys keep taking so looooooong," Peacemaker said impatiently, now jogging around in small circles near the entrance.

"Right, sorry," Snow said. "One more minute and I'll be ready."

Peacemaker groaned and resignedly flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling in silence.

Snow continued packing his things for the day, and noticed that there was still a small amount of Cliff's healing ointment left in the jar. _Probably won't need this, but might as well take it just in case_, Snow thought as he stuffed the jar into the pouch around his neck. _That reminds me…_

He looked over to Cliff, who was almost done with his own preparations.

"Hey Cliff," he called as he approached. "Can you raise your wings?"

"Sure," Cliff complied, flaring his large wings upwards majestically. _Still as impressive as the day I first saw them_, Snow thought.

He scanned the SkyWing's body… there were minor marks on his torso, but he looked otherwise healthy.

"It's looking good," Snow commented. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yep! I feel even better than I did before getting slashed. All thanks to you, _Doctor_ Snow," Cliff flattered.

"I hardly did anything… but I'm glad I was able to help." Snow felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

"Well, we better head out before Peacemaker gets too bored and has an existential crisis."

"It's too late," Peacemaker called, still lying on his back and staring despondently at the ceiling. "I have become one with the cave."

"I'm almost done. Just need to pack Green," Snow said, mildly worried about his hybrid friend. _Where has Green run off to?_

"If you're wondering where Green is," Peacemaker piped up. "He's over here."

Sure enough, Snow looked towards the supine dragon to find a similarly positioned Green lying beside him. It was an amusing sight. _I wonder what any other dragon would think if they walked in to see this scene._

"Green, what are you doing?" Snow asked when he approached the scavenger.

"I am… becoming one with the cave," he droned.

Snow sighed.

"You guys were taking super long," Green said with a shrug. "And this looked like fun."

"All right all right. I won't take so long in the future, okay?" Snow assured, rolling his eyes. "So get in the bag please."

Green obliged, and Snow carefully cast the bag over his shoulder.

Peacemaker rolled back onto his feet. "Are we all ready?"

"Looks like it," said Cliff, and Snow nodded in agreement.

"_Finally_," Peacemaker said as the three of them stepped out of their sleeping cave.

Immediately, Snow noticed a cherry red SkyWing waiting a little ways off from their entrance. _I think that's Canary_, Snow recalled. _The dragon that accidently hurt Cliff yesterday._ Her tail was tapping on the floor nervously, suggesting that she had been waiting outside for a while.

"Oh, that's Canary," Cliff remarked. "Sorry, I gotta go talk to her for a second. Be right back!" He began making his way over to her with a quick jog.

"Three moons, we're never gonna get to class are we?" Peacemaker said.

Snow watched as Cliff approached his SkyWing friend and began speaking with her. They were a little too far away for him to make out any of the words, but their expressions communicated the general essence of the conversation.

Canary's face was riddled with guilt and remorse as she presumably apologized. Cliff said some things with a smile (_probably telling her it was nothing_, Snow imagined), before flaring his wings and showing off his more or less healed wound.

Cliff made a few more inaudible remarks before laughing jovially, earning a small smile out of Canary; the first since the conversation began. _Cliff is so good at talking_, Snow admired. _I hope that I can be as confident as him one day_.

Cliff brought down his wing over Canary, wrapping her in its warmth. _I guess he does that to everyone,_ Snow mused.

"Daww, that's nice," Peacemaker said. "It's good that they got it all sorted out. It looks like that was plaguing her all night."

Cliff marched his way back over to his two clawmates after exchanging his goodbyes with Canary, a content smile plastered on his face.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Snow pointed out.

"I am. It feels good to make other people happy," he hummed. "Anyway, shall we?"

"Yes. _Please_," Peacemaker begged. "No more distractions."

"Oh! I forgot a scroll back in our sleeping cave," said Cliff.

"Oh moons, why have you forsaken me," Peacemaker said, looking forlornly towards the ceiling.

"Just kidding!" Cliff said with a snicker. "Come on, let's go. I'll race you there!" He darted down the tunnel towards their classroom.

"Hey that's not fair!" Peacemaker called after him as he began giving chase. "You know I can't find any class on my own!"

Snow followed behind at his own pace, enjoying his friends' enthusiasm (and also making sure to redirect Peacemaker whenever he took a wrong turn).

* * *

Seven dragonets were gathered within an open-faced cave, a large forest of green visible just outside the opening. Of the Diamond Winglet, Snow and his two clawmates were the last ones to arrive (the classroom was deceptively far away from their sleeping cave). Though they arrived within the ringing of the second gong, their new teacher still seemed dissatisfied with their belatedness.

He was a tall MudWing, with an even tree-trunk brown coloring his scales; sporting a well-built body that alluded to his hunting expertise. The intense look in his eyes told Snow that this was someone who took his job very seriously.

"Diamond Winglet," he addressed, with a stern voice to match his stern expression. "My name is Log, and you will call me as such throughout our time in hunting class."

He scanned the dragons in the room with his demanding gaze. "Can anyone tell me why we hunt?"

A short silence descended upon the dragonets, before Amber spoke up and said, "To eat and not starve?"

"Correct, but not the answer I am looking for," he responded. "Can anyone tell me what _drives_ us to hunt?"

Tide spoke up instead this time. "Our natural instincts honed over countless generations of dragons, resulting in the culmination of the intrinsic skills and tools we have at our disposal."

"Yes, exactly," Log said with a nod of approval towards Tide, which left the SeaWing with a very pleased look. "Hunting is more than just killing prey for food. It's an _art_, and an important tradition passed down from our ancestors."

He paced around the front of the cave and continued speaking. "They gave us these jagged claws and these sharp teeth. To abandon hunting would be to reject the gifts our ancestors presented us. It would be no different than losing part of what makes us dragons!" he preached. "That is why it is absolutely essential for every dragon to know how to utilize the tools at their disposal and fend for themselves, lest we forfeit a crucial fragment of our identity as a species."

_He's going to be so disappointed when he sees my hunting results_, Snow thought somberly.

"Now, as this is our first lesson, we'll be doing an evaluation of sorts to see where your current hunting aptitude lies. You will be split up into random pairs, and you must bring back one piece of prey from the nearby forest. Any size will do for now. Ideally, you'd be hunting alone. But due to safety regulations, we can only let you go if you're with another dragon. It is unlikely that anything in the forest can cause significant harm to a dragon, but freak accidents can happen. Also, with all the worry about dragons going missing, Sunny _absolutely_ will not allow me to send dragons out alone."

Snow was elated to hear that he didn't have to hunt alone. Having someone with him made him feel much better about his chances. _I just may be able to get through this class after all._

"The pairings will be; Tide and Cliff, Amber and Peacemaker, Snowball and Barb, and Pear will hunt with me."

_Oh no_, Snow thought, immediately going into an internal state of panic._ This is bad. Bad bad bad_.

Things had been… tense between him and Barb ever since he got mad at her in music class (not that they weren't already tense before that). He'd been avoiding her more than ever, but now he was being forced to go out into a forest with her. Alone. With no witnesses.

His inner terror must've made it out to his exterior, because Cliff looked to him with a concerned expression.

"Can we switch partners?" Cliff asked the teacher. Tide looked somewhat hurt at the proposition.

"No," Log said strictly. "I made the pairs random for a reason. I don't want you dillydallying with a friend out in the forest."

"Well can you at least re-randomize the pairs?" Cliff tried. "Any other pairing would do."

"Do you really dislike the idea of hunting with me that much?" Tide asked, looking a little downcast.

"N-no! It's not that at all," Cliff assured. "It's just…"

"He doesn't want me paired with the IceWing," Barb deduced, her voice as gruff and gravelly as ever. "Relax, your highness. I won't hurt your precious buddy."

Cliff furrowed his brow at the SandWing.

"Oooh, I understand the situation now," Tide said. "I assure you, Snowball will be safe with Barb. She may make a lot of hostile remarks, but she's all bark and no bite. She hasn't done anything violent to me yet and I seem to infinitely bother her just by existing."

_Maybe that's because she doesn't want to get in trouble for attacking a student within the academy. The forest on the other hand…_ Snow thought dourly. Cliff still looked concerned as well.

"It's okay Cliff," Snow began quietly, trying to keep his trembling to a minimum. "I – I gotta learn how to be confident, remember? This seems like it'll… help on that front."

"Yeah, it's gonna be fine," Peacemaker assisted. "I get the feeling that you and Barb are gonna catch something big too!"

"…All right," Cliff said, seemingly convinced. He leaned in close to Snow and whispered, "If she does anything weird out there, just yell as loud as you can. I'll be there in a flash." He lightly pumped his wings. "I'm a pretty fast flier."

"Th-thanks Cliff," Snow replied, a little caught off guard by his closeness, but also feeling better after hearing his friend's concern.

Cliff turned around and marched towards Barb, stopping in front of her. He looked up at the SandWing with a scowl, undaunted by her larger size. "If anything happens to Snow out there, I'll make sure you regret it."

Barb snorted. "That's a pretty vague threat, prince. They're usually more effective when they're specific. For example: if you keep bothering me, I'm going to claw your pretty little snout off."

"All right, break it up," Log commanded, noticing the two growling dragonets. "You've had enough time to chat with your friends. Everyone, pick a direction and fly with your partner."

All the pairs gathered together. Barb barely acknowledged Snow's existence as they stood side by side, instead electing to look ahead towards the forest. _Picking a good direction to hunt?_ Snow wondered. _Or finding a good place to hide a body…_

He managed to wave goodbye to his clawmates before they left. Peacemaker cheerily waved back, entirely unworried about what the future held for Snow, which in a weird way made Snow feel better.

Cliff looked uneasy as they made eye contact, then flew off into the forest. _He's gonna worry about me the entire time_, Snow realized. _Argh, I wish I was a strong and confident dragon that nobody had to be worried about ever._

This was his chance to build up some confidence and prove to Cliff that he was a capable dragon in his own right. He gathered his willpower and launched into the air, following his SandWing partner as she made her way towards the forest.


	17. Chapter 16

**~ CHAPTER 16 ~**

Snow flew closely (but not too closely) behind Barb as they made their way to the forest for their hunting expedition. Countless thin trees jutted out of the ground like toothpicks, with dense foliage hanging over them.

Further and further they flew, with Barb wordlessly leading the way and Snow following her lead. The journey was silent and tense, so much so that Snow almost felt compelled to say something.

"We're going to land," Barb ordered suddenly, startling Snow and causing him to slightly lose his balance. "The forest is too thick here. Can't see anything from above. It'll be more effective if we're on the ground."

"O-okay," said Snow, though the SandWing didn't seem to wait for his approval and had already begun her descent into the thick foliage. He quickly followed.

Being inside the forest was an entirely new experience. Snow had never seen so much life and energy before. The mountains where he grew up were relatively scarce in their wildlife, but this forest had an abundance of it. Soothing bird chirps echoed throughout, mixed in with the sound of soft winds and gently swishing flora. Scattered sunbeams shone through the gaps in the canopy ceiling, landing comfortably on Snow's scales. The forest floor was covered in fallen leaves and twigs, crinkling softly as they kindly cushioned his talons.

_Wow… _Snow thought. _This would be such a beautiful sight… if I wasn't so terrified right now._

Try as he might, Snow could not stop worrying. His anxiety had a tight grip on him, constantly reminding him of the potential for disaster. He looked to Barb as she took in her surroundings, eyeing the coiled barb that appended her tail.

"We're going to need to be as quiet as possible, so don't make any noise," Barb said with a sharp look. "We both want to get this done as quickly as we can, so just follow me and let me do all the work."

Snow nodded obediently, fearfully trailing his hunting partner as she made her way through the forest.

Several minutes passed as they quietly walked, before Barb held up a talon, indicating for Snow to stop. She pointed at a red fox that was drinking from a nearby creek, completely unaware of the two predators behind it.

Snow watched as Barb expertly uncoiled her tail, her body low to the ground as she stealthily approached the creature.

Snow moved forward behind his partner – _SNAP!_

The fox's head shot up at the sudden noise, noticing both the dragons before rapidly fleeing the scene.

Snow was confused as to what happened before realizing that he had stepped on a large stick by accident, as evidenced by the snapped components beneath his talon. _It must've heard me…_

Barb looked to him with an irritated expression. "Seriously? All you had to do was be quiet."

"I – I'm sorry," Snow said, shrinking beneath her gaze. "I didn't m-mean to, I swear, I didn't see the stick and I was focused on the fox and –"

"Shut up," she commanded. Snow clamped his mouth shut submissively, trembling as the large SandWing approached him. "If you're gonna keep scaring off prey, then you can just wait here where you can be useless instead of a hindrance," she hissed. "I'm going on ahead. Maybe I can actually catch something if I don't have an idiot stumbling around behind me and alerting everyone to my presence."

He watched her storm off into some nearby thickets, disappearing beyond his view.

Snow slumped to the ground, not bothering to hide his gloom like usual. _She's right. I'm a useless screw-up._

"Are you just gonna let her walk all over you like that?" Green asked from within the bag.

"Yes," Snow responded glumly. "Everything she said is true. She's got a better shot at hunting something without me."

"Come on Snow, everyone makes mistakes. You can't give up on yourself cause you stepped on _one_ twig," he tried.

"Well Barb sure gave up on me after that," Snow mumbled, rustling some fallen leaves around with his tail.

"Forget about Barb. She's a bully with a bad attitude. You can't take her words to heart," Green said. "And you don't have to be so scared of her, you know. You've been giving me the ride of my life with all the trembling you've been doing."

"Sorry."

"She's not as scary as you think. And if you do get into a fight with her, I'm right here with you to take her down."

"No offense Green, but I don't think your noodle arms are gonna be very helpful against a dragon," Snow pointed out.

"Then I'll charm her with my dazzling personality, and you get her from behind while she's distracted."

Snow rolled his eyes. "I almost hope she does start a fight now, just so I get to see that wonderful sight."

"Never underestimate the ingenuity of a desperate scavenger," Green said sagely. "I'm not afraid to really lean into the 'cute dumb animal' look if worst comes to worst."

Snow chuckled. "Now _that_ is something I wouldn't mind seeing, even if it was the last thing I saw before I died a horrible death."

"Well if it comes down to it, I promise to make your last moments on this world as enjoyable as possible. Ah, I'm such a good friend," he said, half joking and half boasting.

"You really are," Snow agreed sincerely. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Green."

"That's what I'm here for."

The sound of rustling leaves and twigs came from the nearby bushes. _Is Barb back already?_ Snow thought, as the volume of the rustling increased.

He prepared himself for the visage of Barb as the noise approached, step by step. Except what stepped out of the thickets wasn't Barb.

It was a massive grizzly bear, advancing steadily towards the IceWing.

Snow froze. He'd never seen a bear before. Its sharp claws glimmered menacingly, reflecting what little light managed to pierce through the canopy. The bear was slowly making its way towards him, baring its tainted teeth. _…Is this how scavengers feel when they see us?_

"Snow," whispered Green. "This is a bad time to freeze up. Move."

Snapping out of his fearful trance, Snow heeded Green's advice and began slowly moving backward, trying not to make any sudden movements.

_Take it easy Snow_, he thought, struggling to calm his uneven breathing. _One step at a time._

He took a single step backward. Then another. Then another. And then he couldn't take any more steps back, as his hind leg got tangled up in some large, thick tree roots. _Oh no._

He tugged at his leg, trying to pull it free. _Come on come on come on_, he thought with panic as his leg refused to comply.

The bear quickened its approach, seeing Snow's predicament. It was rapidly closing in, switching from a jog to a charge. It lunged at Snow with an ear-splitting _ROAR_, claws swinging in the air. In the last moment, Snow swerved his body so that Green was safe from harm behind him, and he prepared for the impending pain.

But the pain never came. Instead, Snow watched as the bear was tackled out of the way in midair by a charging Barb. She wrestled it to the ground, growling aggressively as she raised her barbed tail.

Before she could strike the bear, it reared up in a moment of adrenaline and bit her shoulder with all its might. Barb let out a furious hiss and shoved the bear off of her, leaving a large set of gashes where her claws met its skin.

The bear took advantage of Barb's momentary distraction to check her wound, and it quickly fled into the thickets and out of sight, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

Snow had a private moment of relief, now that the main source of danger was gone. But that relief was quickly changed back into terror as Barb stomped angrily towards the IceWing, blood dripping menacingly from her shoulder.

He struggled some more to get himself untangled from the thick roots, but it was hopeless in his current state of panic. "I – I'm sorr–"

Barb grabbed one of his front talons roughly, cutting off whatever ramblings Snow was about to spew. "I'm not sure if you've ever noticed," she began, her voice somehow more gruff than usual, "but you have these _very_ useful things called 'claws.'"

She tugged at his talon and guided it to the roots that were wrapped around his hind leg, using his claws to cut them, like a knife through butter. "Great for cutting yourself out of roots when you're about to be mauled by a bear."

"I'm sorry, I was panicking and the bear was coming so fast and I didn't think –"

"And another thing," Barb continued, completely ignoring his blathering. "We dragons have these amazing appendages known as 'wings.' They make us more or less immune to the dangers of earthbound beasts. Unless you're too stupid to use them and decided to waddle backward on foot instead."

"I –"

"Oh, and one more thing," she interrupted. "Not sure if you've heard of it, but IceWings have a deadly ability known as 'frostbreath' that _literally_ freezes their enemies to death."

Snow was speechless, as he felt hot shame and embarrassment overcome him. _What is wrong with me?_

Barb ungently pulled him up to his feet and asked, "Are you hurt?"

His head was still spinning, but he was unharmed. "N-no, I'm fine."

"Then stop looking so stunned and start moving. You'll have to stay close to me since you're clearly too incompetent to be by yourself."

Suddenly, something finally dawned on Snow. _Barb… just saved my life_, he realized. _She could've easily left me to die, but she jumped in and fought off the bear._

"Hurry up and get a move on," Barb said, before looking back at Snow. "…Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You… saved me," Snow said, his eyes full of awe.

"Obviously I'd save you, idiot. Did you really think I'd just sit back and watch you get mangled by a wild bear?"

"…Maybe."

Barb snorted a short laugh. "As amusing as that would've been to see, it would be annoying to live with the guilt of knowing I let some defenseless chump die. I'm not evil, you know."

For the first time, Snow believed it. _She isn't evil. A bit of a jerk, sure, but she's not a villain. She protected me, even though she got hurt._

"Th-thank you," Snow blurted out. "For saving me."

Barb looked at him with confusion. "…Let's just get moving already."

"You're hurt," Snow said, pointing to the bite mark across her shoulder.

"Oh gee, thanks for letting me know. I hadn't noticed yet," she said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Here." Snow searched through his bag and pulled out the jar of leftover ointment from when Cliff was hurt. "Put this on the wound."

Barb eyed the jar in Snow's talon with skepticism, before ultimately taking it and dumping the contents onto her shoulder. She hissed in recoil as the gel made contact with her wound.

"Oh right, it stings a little," Snow added. "Sorry, should've mentioned that earlier."

Barb furrowed her brow at the IceWing, but started rubbing the gel in regardless. After a few moments, the bleeding had completely stopped and the wound was looking better already. _This stuff is super handy, maybe I'll get an extra bottle of it from Doctor Minnow._

"All right," Barb started, "now that that's all done, let's go find that bear."

"You want to go _after_ the bear?" Snow asked with alarm.

"Of course," Barb said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It even left us a trail of blood to follow. How nice of it."

"Maybe we could just leave it and find something… smaller?" Snow suggested.

"No way. That bear made an enemy of me, and it's about to find out the consequences."

Snow sighed as she started trekking after the bear. He followed after her, but with significantly less trembling this time.

_She saved me, even though she didn't have to. She can't be all bad, right? _

_Maybe there's a dragon in there that even I could get along with._

* * *

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate all the reviews you guys leave. I read each and every one, even if I don't reply to all of them (sometimes I really just have nothing to add). _

_That being said, I do try my best to reply to any questions that get asked in the reviews. But sometimes people leave questions in a guest review. So this is a PSA to all those people: I can't reply to your review if you're posting it as a guest! You need to leave a review when you're logged in for me to be able to reply to it. _

_Obviously I appreciate the review whether you're a guest or have an account, but if you're going to ask a question, try to log in first so I'm able to reply. Thanks again for all your support!_


	18. Chapter 17

**~ CHAPTER 17 ~**

Barb diligently followed the trail of blood left by the bear, while Snow waddled behind her. The green and brown of the forest floor made it easy to distinguish the red of the blood, as its bright and fluid form contrasted with the soft earth. Snow looked away from the blood.

_She's really committed to hunting that bear,_ Snow thought. His eyes drifted to the bite mark on her shoulder._ But she could get hurt again._

"Is there anything I can say to convince you _not_ to go after that bear?" Snow tried.

"Nope."

He sighed. _She's so stubborn. I wish I was more convincing. I bet Cliff would've been able to persuade her._

_Maybe instead of trying to convince her with words, I have to do something else…_

"What if I caught something instead?" Snow suggested. "Log said we only needed one piece of prey between the two of us. So… if I caught us another creature, you'd have no reason to go after the bear, right?"

Barb laughed her gravelly laugh. "All right. That sounds like it'd be entertaining to watch," she said. "But you have to stay near me. Don't want a repeat of the bear incident."

Snow nodded resolutely, and started looking around for some prey to catch. _I may be a terrible hunter, but that doesn't matter. I just need to catch one thing for us to be able to go back to school safely._

But he was having trouble finding any prey to begin with. _I guess being a stark white IceWing in the middle of a forest kinda makes me stick out…_ _I'll just have to be extra sneaky then._

Eventually, Green tapped on Snow's back through the bag and said, "I see a large bird up on that branch to the left."

"Thanks Green," Snow whispered back. The one advantage he had in hunting was the extra set of eyes on his back.

He crouched low to the ground, walking as silently as he could to the tree where the large bird was perched. _I'll have to jump and fly up in one swift motion and grab it before it notices me._

Waiting for the perfect opportunity, he readied himself for a pounce. _Not yet… Not yet… Now!_

He jumped up towards the branch, talons outstretched as he attempted to grab at the bird. However, he failed to anticipate just how many branches were in the way. His appendages got caught on several of them, and his talons couldn't even reach the bird, uselessly swatting at the air in front of it.

The bird looked down at him with a cocked head and squawked smugly before flying away.

Snow hung limply in the air, still tangled up by the branches, as one of the feathers left by the bird's getaway landed softly on the tip of his snout. He could hear Barb laughing from below.

"Wow, I was right. That _was_ entertaining to watch," she said.

Snow felt his face become flush with embarrassment and humiliation. It didn't help that he was having trouble untangling himself from the labyrinth of branches he found himself in.

To Snow's surprise, Barb flew up and helped cut him down.

"How are you so bad at hunting?" she asked as they both descended back down to the earthy floor. "Didn't you live alone or something?"

"I lived with my sister. She did all the hunting. I was never any good at it… and I'm starting to think that I'll probably never get better." He looked to the ground with shame. _Some dragon I am._

Barb looked at Snow for a while before sighing. "Three moons, your face is so pitiful. Let me give you some hunting advice so you stop looking so depressed."

"Okay…" Snow responded, still feeling disheartened, but also somewhat fascinated that Barb wanted to help.

"Listen, you're really good at hiding your presence. Sometimes I barely even notice you're there at all. It's kind of creepy. You should use that to your advantage and sneak up on your prey instead of trying to catch them with an attack."

_Well I do try to hide from dragons every day_, Snow mused. _Masking my presence is sort of second nature now. She might be onto something…_

"Look over there," Barb whispered, pointing her tail towards an unassuming rabbit in the distance. "Give it a shot."

Bewildered that Barb was being so encouraging, Snow nodded and focused his attention on the prey. He took in a deep breath, and exhaled. _Just imagine it's a scary looking dragon in the hallway, and I'm trying to walk by without being noticed._

It was troublingly easy to visualize the cute rabbit as a dragon. Its white fur reminded him of the scales of an IceWing, which was apparently all his brain needed to turn on his sneaking switch.

He crawled ever so slowly towards it, making sure he was in its blind spot the whole way through. Closer and closer he got, until he finally was right behind it.

Snow was amazed that it hadn't noticed him yet. He was inches away from it, and it continued to munch on the green grass in front of it as if it was completely safe. _I could probably just reach out and grab it…_

He extended a talon and unceremoniously picked up the small creature. It gave a jolt in his talon as it finally acknowledged Snow's existence.

"I did it!" Snow chirped. He turned around to face Barb, a large smile plastered across his snout. "Barb, look! I caught it! I actually caught it!"

"I can see that," Barb responded dully. "I _guess_ we can just take that back to Log instead of the bear." She sounded disappointed to let the bear go, but it looked like she was committed to keeping her end of the agreement.

_Yes! I did everything right for once! I managed to hunt something, and now Barb doesn't have to fight the bear,_ Snow thought to himself with the rare and unfamiliar feeling of pride.

"Well go on then," Barb said. "Kill it already."

Snow's exhilaration quickly faded. "You want me to… kill it?"

"Yes?" Barb answered, confused as to why he'd ask such an obvious question. "It's kinda cruel to just leave it trembling in your talon like that for so long. Put it out of its misery already."

Snow looked back to the rabbit and finally noticed that it was indeed trembling. It looked up at him with terrified, beady eyes. He could hear it making soft squeaking noises as its chest rapidly rose and fell with each fearful breath.

_Come on Snow, you're a dragon. Kill it and be done with it,_ he tried to persuade himself. _It would not be very hard. I just need to drag one claw across its neck, or I could just keep squeezing it until it stops breathing, or…_

Somehow, in trying to convince himself to end its life, he managed to do the opposite. _I can't kill you_, Snow thought.

He brought his other talon closer to the rabbit, which caused it to wince in fear, closing both its eyes and preparing for death. But Snow simply stroked its fur as gently as he could.

The rabbit looked back up, trembling a little less. _It reminds me of me_, Snow realized, its stark white fur matching the color of the talon he was holding it with.

He smiled at it sadly, and then lowered it to the ground and let it go. It gave him one final look, before darting into the thickets with impressive speed.

"Hey! Why'd you do that for?" Barb asked. "Don't tell me you don't know how to kill a rabbit."

"I wish I could say that I didn't know…" Snow mumbled despondently. "But no, of course I know how to kill a rabbit. I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

"…All right. That's a little weird, but you don't have to look so depressed about it," Barb said. "So what if you don't want to kill a rabbit."

'_To abandon hunting… It would be no different than losing part of what makes us dragons,'_ he remembered Log saying.

"It means I'm a failure, Barb. I'm such a sorry excuse for a dragon," he said miserably.

"_Never_ let your self-worth be decided by something others expect of you," she said with a more serious expression than Snow had ever seen come from Barb. "That's how they get you."

"O-okay," Snow nodded, a little startled by her sudden change in tone.

"…Just leave the hunting to me, all right?" she eventually said.

"But because I was too weak to kill that rabbit, you're gonna fight the bear and get hurt again."

Barb gave him a surprised look. "Is that why you were trying so hard to hunt something else?"

Snow nodded dejectedly.

"…You're a really weird dragon. If it makes you feel better, I wasn't planning on fighting it. I'll sneak up on it and kill it before it even realizes I'm there. That's generally how hunting works."

"So you're not gonna get injured again?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Barb said, confidently displaying her barbed tail.

"…Okay, I can live with that."

"Good. Now stop dillydallying and let's get back on the blood trail."

Snow picked himself up, feeling better about the situation, though still a little depressed about the fact that he could relate more to a rabbit than a dragon. He continued to follow Barb as she tracked the trail of blood, getting closer and closer to their prey.

Snow tried to make casual conversation to pass the time, but had little success.

"You're suddenly a lot more talkative," Barb pointed out grouchily, somewhere around Snow's third attempt. "What happened to the IceWing that was quiet and afraid?"

"That was back when I thought you were super evil and going to kill me," Snow answered.

"Heh. That is the look I'm trying to go for," Barb said with a satisfied smile.

"Why do you say mean things all the time?" Snow asked, genuinely curious.

"I just say whatever's on my mind. I don't care what others think."

"Well did you really have to say you were going to claw Cliff's snout off back during class?"

She shrugged. "He was being annoying."

"What about that time you threatened to eat my scavenger?" Snow asked. He still hadn't forgotten the awful anger that bubbled up inside him that day, even though he'd been trying to.

Barb made a strange, undecipherable expression when Snow brought it up. "…Like I said, I just say whatever's on my mind."

_Pretty lousy thing to have in your mind in the first place_, Snow thought to himself.

"I wasn't going to eat your pet," she continued after a brief bout of silence. "I just… don't like scavengers."

"Why not?" Snow huffed, feeling mildly offended on their behalf.

"They always look so… knowing. It's creepy," she said with a sour expression. "And they're more cunning than you might think. A couple of scavengers managed to kill my grandmother."

"Oh… I'm so sorry," Snow said. _How in the world did they manage to do that?_ he thought privately.

"Don't be," Barb said. "That was over twenty years ago, and she was apparently an awful dragon, so the scavengers might've done us a favor. But my mother has always despised scavengers since." Her voice was becoming gruffer as the conversation continued.

"But that's like hating all dragons because one of them did something bad," said Snow.

"My mother is a strange dragon. Trying to use rational thinking isn't going to work. Honestly I'm pretty sure she doesn't even mind that they killed her mother. She probably just hates them because they're not cute."

"They so are cute!" Snow defended. "…But that's a terrible reason to hate something."

"You're telling me," Barb said bitterly. "She is so obsessed with looks that she hates her own child. Her favorite thing to tell me was 'you're not pretty enough to be my daughter.'"

_What an awful thing to say_, Snow thought. "She really said that? Is she blind?"

Barb barked out a gruff laugh. "Flattery will get you nowhere with me, IceWing."

"I can't imagine what it would be like if my family was that cruel to me." _I should be more thankful that Cactus was the one who found my egg_.

"It wasn't all bad. There was one dragon who was always nice to me, even though I was a huge jerk to him." Her expression very slightly softened. "My uncle."

"That's great!" Snow beamed. "What was he like?"

Barb looked back at Snow with a perplexed expression, as though she couldn't figure out what he could be plotting. "…Well, he was always kind of sarcastic, and he made too many jokes for my liking. But he always made time for me, despite being a, uh, very important dragon."

_A very important dragon… _Snow wondered what she meant by that.

"And also he had a pet scavenger too," Barb finished.

"Oh!" Snow perked up, strangely delighted to hear that. "What was his scavenger like?" _And why do so many uncles own a scavenger?_

"She was weird. Sometimes she made drawings that were eerily good. I think he called her Flower or something."

"Wow…" Snow said, enthralled by Barb's tale. _I want to meet her…_

"And here I thought my uncle was the only weirdo who cared about scavengers so much," Barb remarked. "You know, you kinda remind me of him. And not just because you're both obsessed with scavengers."

"I do?" Snow cocked his head curiously.

"Yeah. You're being nice to me despite all the… less-than-nice things I've done to you."

"You saved me from a bear, and you untangled me from the trees, and also you taught me how to hunt a little," Snow listed. "You're not as bad as I thought you were, and you're not as bad as you seem to think you are either."

Barb was silent as they kept moving forward. He couldn't get a good look at her expression from where he was trailing behind her. _What is she thinking right now?_ Snow wondered.

Finally, she spoke. "Others usually don't like me after they get to know me, so I guess at some point I just stopped giving them the chance."

Snow felt a pang of sorrow in his chest. _She must not have very many friends. I don't know what I'd do without my friends… It must be miserable for her._

"If it helps," Snow started quietly, "I liked you a lot more after I got to know you."

Barb stopped and looked back at him with a snarl in her throat. "Will you shut up already?" she barked, louder than Snow was expecting. "I don't want your pity. You don't know me at all. We've had one conversation and you're acting like we're best friends. I don't know where you got this idea that I even want friends to begin with. I'm fine on my own. Always have been."

The sudden outburst made Snow recoil with terror. He had never been yelled at before. It was loud and alarming and made him want to run away. He tried not to look too terrified as he instinctively stepped backward, though he suspected that his trembling wings held tightly at his side gave him away.

Barb stared at Snow for a few frightening moments – smoke billowing out of her nostrils – before clicking her tongue and turning back towards the trail. "Come on," she said gruffly.

Snow silently followed her, not daring to say anything else. _Way to go Snow. You were making progress, and then you blew it_, he reprimanded himself. _I hope I didn't make her too mad._

They walked in heavy silence for a short while, until the two dragons finally reached the end of the blood trail, and their prey awaited them at the edge of a lake.

"Stay here," Barb commanded. "Let me show you what real hunting looks like."

Snow nodded obediently and hid himself in a bush, praying that the bear wouldn't notice and hurt Barb again. But his fears began to subside as he saw Barb get low to the ground and inch closer to the bear, making almost no sound in her footfalls.

Barb was directly behind the bear now, with her uncoiled tail hanging in the air. In an instant, the barbed tail struck the back of its neck, and the bear dropped to the ground, no longer moving.

_Whoa,_ Snow admired. _No fighting, no noise, and almost no blood._

Barb checked the bear a few times (presumably making sure it was unquestionably dead), before calling out to Snow. "All right, you can come out now. It's dead."

"That was amazing!" Snow said, poking his head out from the bushes. "It was so quick and painless. I bet it didn't even feel anything!

"It's not that impressive," Barb said, entirely unaffected by Snow's praise. "It's bigger than I thought though… I'm gonna have a rough time carrying this back in one piece. We should chop it up and take only the edible parts back to class, so there's less weight to carry."

Snow went pale at the thought of watching Barb dismember the corpse.

_It's fine Snow_, he tried to convince himself. _There's no reason to feel ill. Even though there's probably gonna be… a lot of blood…_

"You know what?" Barb said, just as she was about to make an incision into the bear's neck. "You're an IceWing, right?"

"Yep," responded Snow curtly, trying desperately not to think of the upcoming sight of oozing blood and gore.

"Your claws are sharper than mine. Why don't you come over here and cut it apart for me? It'll be faster."

"O-oh. You want me to… dissect… the bear corpse." He was starting to feel faint.

"Oh don't be a wimp. It's not that hard. I'll show you where to cut."

Snow stared at the body for a while. He wasn't sure how long, but it felt like an eternity.

Barb looked at him with confusion. "Uh, you look like you're gonna pass out."

"Please don't make me cut it up!" Snow cried out suddenly. "I can't do it. I'm sorry! I'm a coward and very squeamish and I don't like blood and –"

"Whoa, relax," Barb interrupted. "You don't have to do it."

"…Really?"

"Yes. Just calm down, okay?"

"Okay…" Snow looked to the ground, a little embarrassed by his involuntary outburst, but mostly relieved that he didn't have to go through with Barb's request.

Barb regarded him for a moment. "Help me get this bear on my back."

"You're not gonna dismember it?"

"It's fine. That wasn't part of Log's requirements anyway. I'll just carry the whole body back."

_Did she change her mind for my sake?_ Snow wondered. He helped heave the large bear up and onto her back, resting comfortably between her wings.

_It looks heavy_, Snow thought as Barb launched into the air with a stagger, and they started flying towards the mountain. He could tell that she'd be struggling with it all the way throughout the flight back.

"Hey Barb. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For a lot of things," Snow said. "But mostly for being so scared of you."

"…You apologize too much," she said, and then said nothing else for the remainder of the flight back to class.

Snow didn't mind the silence this time. It was different than the silence that hung over them on the flight to the forest. A lot of things felt different now.

Eventually, the two dragons arrived back at Jade Mountain academy, flying into the open-faced cave where their class had started.

"Snow!" called out a voice, followed by a deep red figure galloping towards him.

"Hey Cliff," Snow said, happy to see his friend.

"Are you hurt? Did you get injured? Did Barb do something to you?" he rambled, circling around Snow and inspecting his body for any harm.

"No, I'm fine," chuckled Snow. Though apparently that wasn't convincing enough for Cliff, who continued his inspection, lifting Snow's wings and checking both sides of them.

Cliff turned his attention to Barb, glaring at the SandWing. "Did you do anything to him?" he said with a growl.

Barb opened her mouth to reply but Snow quickly interjected and said, "No, she didn't. She actually saved me from getting seriously injured."

"Oh," Cliff said, somewhat in disbelief. "Well, uh, thank you for that Barb."

"What are you, his mom?" said Barb.

Cliff frowned. "I guess the concept of caring about someone else is foreign to you," he shot back.

"Okay, break it up guys," Snow said, stepping in between the snarling dragons.

Barb clicked her tongue and said, "I'm going to Log to hand over the bear."

"Wha– did you say bear?" Cliff said, earning a smug smirk out of Barb as she walked away towards the teacher. "Geez, must've been a wild trip."

"You could say that," Snow said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cliff asked once more now that Barb was gone.

"I'm totally fine, Cliff. It was scary for a while, but it turns out that most of the things I was worried about were all in my head. Like they usually are."

Cliff let out a breath of relief. "That's good."

"You don't have to worry about me." Snow puffed his chest out in a meager attempt to display his self-confidence. "I can handle myself."

Unexpectedly, Cliff began laughing. "Sorry," he said when Snow frowned at him. "That was just… very unconvincing."

"Yeah, I know," Snow said with a sigh. "I just wish I was confident enough that nobody had to worry about me."

Cliff brushed his wing against Snow's sympathetically. "You'll get there one day, I promise. And hey, you made great progress today. You just spent an entire hour in the forest with a scary SandWing."

"She's not so bad, you know," Snow defended. "I think deep down, she's a nice dragon. Uh, very deep down," Snow added quickly when he saw Cliff looking at him with skepticism.

"Well, if anyone can find kindness in a dragon like Barb, it'd be you."

That thought rang in Snow's mind as he continued on with the rest of his day. _Barb is a little rough around the edges, but I think she's good on the inside. I've been scared of her this whole time because of how she acted on the outside. Shouldn't I have given her the benefit of the doubt?_

_When I see a stranger, I get nervous because I assume the worst. But don't they deserve the benefit of the doubt too?_

_There's kindness in every dragon,_ Snow thought to himself. _I just have to find it._

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_I've gotten some people asking about my update schedule, so I thought I'd address those queries here. I try to get a chapter out once every 2 weeks, because that's usually how long it takes me to plan, write, and edit a single chapter._

_That being said, if I ever have a little more time and I'm able to finish a chapter in 1 week instead, then I'll upload it that week. And I've found myself having some extra writing time recently, so that's why I've been uploading once a week. Don't get used to it though!_

_Sorry for all the confusion (I didn't even think most people actually paid attention to the schedule… so my bad on that). I hope you're all okay with having a bit of a fluctuating schedule for a little while. Thanks again for your support!_


	19. Chapter 18

**~ CHAPTER 18 ~**

_It's been two weeks,_ Cactus thought to herself, her large SandWing form barreling through the late afternoon sky as fast as her wings would allow. _Two long weeks since Snowball left for Jade Mountain Academy._

_Was it the right decision? Is he miserable? Was he able to make friends? Did he run into bullies? _she frantically thought. _He's such a sweet and timid boy. What was I thinking, dropping him off in a mountain full of strangers? I'm a terrible guardian._

The warm breeze passing over her scales as she flew through the open-air felt like a gratification she didn't deserve. The orange in the sky slowly overtaking the blue was far too nice a sight for someone who'd abandon her poor little brother.

_Aargh, stop second-guessing yourself Cactus! _she shouted internally. _This was the best decision for him. Obviously I would've loved to keep having an adorable brother waiting for me every time I got home, but his future is more important._

She couldn't feel guilty about her choice to forcibly enlist Snow into the academy. He had to learn to socialize and interact with other dragons before it became too late.

She could, however, feel guilty about taking so long to visit. Cactus thought back to the promise she'd made to Snow right before he left for Jade Mountain. _I'd told him that if he still didn't like being at the academy by the time I came to visit, I'd take him home with me._

Truth be told, she only threw out that idea at the time because he looked so pitiful and afraid. But looking back at it now, she realized that she had fallen back into her bad habit of coddling him at every turn.

_He's definitely going to be begging me to take him back home_, Cactus thought. _I bet he's been counting the days 'till I finally visited, fully packed and ready to go as soon as I arrive._

She felt another lurch of guilt as she imagined the poor dragonet sitting alone every day, waiting and hoping that she'd come to visit and take him away from the horrible place.

_Should I take him with me? Or would forcing him to power through and stay be the right thing to do?_

Jade Mountain finally appeared within her view, saving Cactus from the endless battle in her mind. She spotted the golden figure of Sunny waiting at the entrance, and she flew down to greet her.

"Hello Cactus," Sunny said, looking as chipper as ever.

"Hi there Sunny," Cactus replied as she landed on the mountain ledge. She unclipped the two large sacks of materials that she'd been carrying with her, both of them dropping to the floor with a clattering sound as all the various school supplies shook within. _Almost forgot I was here to deliver supplies._

"Geez, how are you able to carry all this stuff," asked Sunny, circling around one of the bags.

"A good diet and lots of exercise," answered Cactus with pride. "…And also being very big helps."

Sunny opened one of the sacks and stuck her head inside, inspecting the goods. "Looks like it's all here," she said, sounding a bit muffled before pulling her head out. "You're a lifesaver Cactus; we were running dangerously low on ink and parchments."

"Just doing my job," Cactus said.

Sunny closed the sack back up and attempted to drag it into the mountain… unsuccessfully. It barely budged. "Er, want me to help?" offered Cactus.

The golden dragon sighed and let go of the sack. "No, don't worry about it. I'll get Clay or someone to come take this stuff in later… but I'm guessing that you want to see a certain someone as soon as possible."

"Is he okay? Has he been getting along with the others? Does he seem depressed?"

"Wow," Sunny said with a giggle. "I never would've taken you the doting mother type."

"Doting sister," Cactus corrected.

"Well lucky for you, classes are over for the day. So why don't you take this, and go find out for yourself how Snowball is doing." Sunny passed her a small map. "I've marked his room, but the tunnels can be confusing so try not to get lost."

"Thanks dear, but following maps is half my job. I think I'll be fine."

Cactus dashed into the mountain, half focused on the map and half focused on not accidentally colliding with some poor unsuspecting student.

"No running in the hallways!" Sunny called after her.

"Er, right, sorry," Cactus called back, internally rolling her eyes. She switched from a dash to a quick gait as she continued to follow the map.

She expertly navigated through the tunnels, her heart beating faster and faster the deeper she went.

_Just a little further up ahead_, Cactus thought to herself as she approached Snow's sleeping cave.

"Snow!" she shouted as she skid into the entrance of his cave.

There he was. Her little treasure, sitting on the floor with a parchment and some ink in front of him. He looked up to her with his silver, moon-like eyes that Cactus loved so dearly. His face shifted from bewilderment to unconcealed joy in an instant.

"Cactus!" he beamed, running up to meet her halfway as they both embraced each other tightly.

She spun him around happily, unfazed by the sudden chilliness that always came along with a hug from Snow (she had long since gotten used to it).

"I missed you soooo much," she said, squeezing him even more tightly.

"Me too," Snow said with a chuckle.

She felt a light tap on her leg and looked down to find Snow's pet scavenger, Green, smiling up at her.

"Yibble ribble," he said with a wave of his paw.

She scooped him up into the hug as well. "Daww, I missed you too you little rascal."

Cactus had no idea what he said, but she and the scavenger had developed a vague sense of understanding after having spent so much time together. It probably helped that Snow was there to mediate, even though she didn't entirely buy the whole idea that scavengers were as smart as dragons.

After a little while (not long enough in Cactus's opinion), Snow pulled out of the hug.

"I had no idea you were coming!" he said. "Oh, um, I should introduce you."

He turned back around to face the other two dragonets, who were sitting beside the parchment on the floor and looking up at them with curious eyes. In her excitement to see Snow, she somehow failed to register their presence in the room.

The dragonet on the left was a deep red SkyWing, with peculiar golden eyes. He looked somehow familiar to Cactus. The other dragonet was a dark scaled… NightWing? He looked mostly NightWing, but some of his features were a little different than the usual NightWing she'd come across.

"This is Cliff and Peacemaker," Snow said, pointing at the SkyWing and the NightWing respectively. "They're my clawmates and my friends."

_Friends!_ Cactus celebrated in her mind. _He did it! I always knew he had it in him._

The SkyWing rose to his feet and approached Cactus with a practiced smile. "You must be Snow's sister. I've heard so much about you. It's an honor to make your acquaintance," he said, raising one of his talons up for a talonshake.

"Likewise," Cactus responded, raising her own (much larger) talon to shake his. _Unexpectedly formal,_ she thought to herself. _And the name Cliff sounds so familiar…_

Snow whispered into Cliff's ear. "Why are you acting so… proper?"

"Shh!" Cliff whispered back. "I really want to make a good first impression with your sister okay?"

Cactus almost chuckled, but managed to hold herself. It seemed that the two dragonets failed to realize their whispers couldn't escape her sharp SandWing hearing.

"Oh!" Cactus exclaimed, as recognition finally struck her. "You're Queen Ruby's son, aren't you?"

A brief wave of weariness crossed his face, before he brought his smile back up. "Yes, I'm prince of the SkyWings. But I assure you that my status is irrelevant here at the academy."

"I'm sure that's true," Cactus said. "But how exciting! My little brother is friends with a prince!"

"He's more than just a prince, Cactus," Snow said. "I would've been happy to be his friend even if he wasn't royalty."

The two of them smiled at each other, and Cactus felt her heart melt. _Snow's making friends and talking to them and he actually looks happy doing it. This is more than I could've hoped for._

"Wow," said the other dragonet – Peacemaker, if Cactus recalled correctly. He'd been gawking up at Cactus during the entire exchange. "You two look nothing alike."

"Peacemaker… you do know we're not actually related right?" Snow asked.

"I know that! I was just imagining… something different," he said, examining Cactus's form. "Whenever you said 'sister', I always pictured someone way younger."

"Peacemaker!" Cliff whispered loudly to the dragonet. "That's really rude!"

"Oh," he replied, as realization dawned on him. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." He lowered his head apologetically.

"Ha ha, no it's fine. I can understand the confusion," Cactus said, trying not to appear offended. _I don't look that old! _she huffed internally. _I'm only fifteen years young. Kids these days._

"Don't feel bad about it Peacemaker," Snow said to his friend. "She's definitely old enough to have adopted me as my mother instead of my sister, but she thinks that having a kid call her mom would make her feel old."

"Hey! That is _not_ true," Cactus defended. …_When did he figure that out?_

Snow snickered mischievously, but Cactus was having a hard time being angry. Her mind was bubbling with joy and delight.

"Oh I'm so happy you've made friends," she said, pulling him in suddenly for another smothering hug. "You would not _believe_ how nervous he was about not being able to make any friends."

The other two dragonets shared a knowing look. "That definitely sounds like Snow," Cliff said.

"Cactus!" Snow cried, his face blushing bright blue. "Stop it! You're embarrassing me."

"Sorry, dear. I just can't help it."

Snow grumbled in defeat.

"I was really worried, you know?" Cactus said.

Shame filled Snow's expression as he looked down sullenly. "Sorry for making you worry."

"It's not your fault Snow. I would've been worried no matter what," she said, stroking his back gently.

"But I'm working on it!" Snow said, suddenly perking up. "I'm gonna be a dragon that's confident and capable."

"Oh my, that sounds like a lofty goal. I'll be cheering you on." _He looks more confident already, _she thought with pride. "You haven't been getting bullied, have you? Any nasty dragons you want me to have a word with?"

Snow looked to be in thought for a moment, before turning back to Cactus and shaking his head. "Not really, no."

"Don't worry ma'am!" Cliff chimed in. "I'll protect Snow from any danger or harm, so there's no need for you to worry."

"Well look at that," she said with a smile. "How fortunate that you'd have your very own knight in shining armor, Snow."

Cliff looked very pleased to hear Cactus say that. _What a curious little dragon._

"Hey, uh, Miss Cactus," Peacemaker began. "Do you have any embarrassing stories about Snow from when he was younger?" he asked with an impish glint in his eyes.

"Oh, I've got plenty," she replied. "Like that one time when Snow –"

"Stop! I don't want to hear it. You've embarrassed me enough," Snow cried out, already looking flustered.

"Oh, all right dear," said Cactus, before turning back to Peacemaker. "How about I tell you a cool story about him instead?"

Peacemaker's eyes sparkled with curiosity, and he nodded his head.

"I'll tell you about the night he hatched from his egg," she said mysteriously, easily enthralling the interest of the dragonets. Even Snow looked curious to hear it.

"It hadn't been long since I'd found his egg," she began. "I'd flown up to the highest peak in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. Figured it'd be a good place for a dragonet to hatch… which was a little irresponsible looking back on it now. Especially since the wind was so strong, though that might have been because of the comet passing overhead.

"You might have heard of the comet that passed through the sky four and a half years ago, but the scrolls don't do it justice. It was _big_, like a fourth moon. And it glowed!"

"It glowed?" Peacemaker echoed in awe, thoroughly captivated by her tale.

"Yes. Very brightly. But here's the cool part, Snow's egg started glowing too, just as bright. And then the comet started flashing, and Snow's egg started flashing in unison. It was like a cosmic dance, increasing in speed and intensity, faster and faster. Until finally… they both stopped flashing. The comet had a weaker glow to it, but Snow's egg was shining brightly, like it had just taken some of the comet's light. Moments later, the egg began to crack, and out came the most adorable baby dragon I've ever laid eyes on."

"Whoa…" Peacemaker said quietly, eyes wide with wonder. Even Cliff had an enchanted expression across his face, his mouth slightly agape as he processed the story. _Maybe I should be a professional storyteller,_ Cactus thought to herself.

Snow, however, looked utterly shocked, as his jaw hung completely open.

"Is that all true?" he managed to ask after composing himself a little.

"Why do you look so stunned, dear? I've told you this story before."

"I thought it was just one of those fantastical made-up stories!" he stammered. "Like the chubby IceWing who goes around delivering presents to good dragonets on the Winter Solstice."

"Wait, he's not real?" asked Peacemaker with alarm.

"Cactus, this would've helped explain a lot of things," Snow continued. "Like, you know, my weird ability that lets me understand scavengers. Ever thought that those two mysterious things might be connected?"

"…Well, yes, I suppose they could be. I never really thought about it before," Cactus said.

For the longest time, she thought Snow just had an overactive imagination and couldn't actually understand scavengers. But as the months passed by, Snow never stopped insisting that it was true. And it was hard to deny that he and Green really did seem to share an understanding.

"I'm gonna have to do some research about this later," Snow muttered to himself.

Peacemaker bounced to Snow's side. "We'll help!"

"Yeah, three heads are better than one," Cliff added. "I want to get to the bottom of this mystery."

Snow smiled sheepishly at the two dragonets. "Thanks guys."

_He told them about his peculiar ability,_ Cactus realized. _He must really trust them. To think that Snow would be able to connect with others…_

"Hey Snow, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" asked Cactus.

"Sure," Snow nodded. The two of them moved to a secluded corner of the sleeping cave.

"What is it? Am I in trouble?" he said. "It's my friends isn't it? You don't approve of me hanging around with such badly behaved delinquents. I'll go let them down easy."

"No, Snow," Cactus replied with an eye roll. "I'm trying to be serious here. Do you remember on the day you left for Jade Mountain Academy, we made an agreement–"

"I don't want to go home," Snow said, cutting her off. "You were right Cactus. There's a whole world outside of my old cave that I would've never gotten to see if I had just stayed where it was safe and comfortable."

"Are you sure?" Cactus asked. "I don't want you to regret this decision somewhere down the line."

"I'm sure," he said with a resolute nod. "I like it here. Sure, it's scary sometimes… or a lot of the time, but I want to grow. I want to be better, better than I was yesterday. And I won't change if I stay in my comfort zone."

Cactus was taken aback by the little dragonet's words. This sounded nothing like the Snow that was begging her to let him stay cooped up in his home.

"I have a goal," Snow continued. "I want to help the scavengers. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I do know that I can't do it alone. I want to be the kind of dragon who can ask for help, and be convincing enough to actually get it. I need to improve."

There was a fire in his silver eyes that Cactus had never seen back when he was idling around in their mountain home. He had a newfound resolve, and the determination to see it through.

And for the first time, Cactus was finally sure she had made the right choice.

She scooped him up for yet another unsolicited embrace. "I'm so proud of you, my little Snowball," she bubbled. "I owe you an apology. I had expected you to have your things packed up and ready to go at the first sign of my visit."

"Well, that does sound like something I'd do," Snow admitted, weakly attempting to push himself out of the hug.

"You're stronger than I gave you credit for. I guess I don't have to worry about you anymore."

Those words seemed like music to Snow's ears, as he gave in to the embrace and returned the gesture. "No, you don't."

"Well, maybe I'll worry a little," she added. "You are still my darling little brother."

Snow closed his eyes and pressed closer into the hug, trying to soak up as much warmth from his sister as possible, as he often did in the past.

He let out a content sigh. "A little is fine. I can live with a little."


	20. Chapter 19

**~ CHAPTER 19 ~**

"Research is SO boring," Peacemaker complained, gazing over a scroll in his talons. "Do we _have_ to do this?"

"You're the one that offered to help, Peacemaker," Cliff said, lying against a wall with his eyes focused on the scroll he's holding.

Snow and his friends were currently in one of the small, private study rooms provided by the library, with a hefty pile of scrolls gathered in the center (courtesy of Starflight). The bland, cavernous room was an appropriate backdrop for the mind-numbing process of filtering through countless scrolls.

But unlike the last time he came here to do research, Cliff and Peacemaker had decided to join him. And despite Peacemaker's complaints, Snow was really happy his friends were there by his side.

"Soooo," Peacemaker began, "just to be clear, we're looking for information on that comet that you think gave you your magic scavenger power, right?"

"Yes, Peacemaker," Snow said, looking through his fifth astronomical scroll.

"And the reason we're doing that, is because you think the comet might give us a clue as to why you're unaffected by that 'curse' Avarice created, right?"

"Yeah," Snow replied, not looking up from his scroll. "Or it might at least tell us _something_."

"But we already _found_ all the information about that comet," Peacemaker said. "It's known more commonly as 'The Orb in the Sky,' it resembles a fourth moon, and it passes over Pyrrhia approximately every one thousand years," he listed in his best teacher-impression. "There was even a painting of it that we showed to Cactus before she left yesterday, and she confirmed it was the same one."

He was right, of course. Finding that information about the comet was surprisingly easy. _I suppose it only happened four and a half years ago, so it wouldn't be difficult to find reports of it, _Snow thought. But that was the extent of what they could find. Not much else was said about it, so they turned to reading about other kinds of comets and astronomical events, in hopes of unearthing more clues.

"We have to find out as much as we can, Peacemaker," Snow said. "I'm sure that if we just keep looking, we'll find a lead eventually." _I hope_.

"What makes you so sure that there's even a 'curse' that makes scavengers sound like gibberish to dragons?" Peacemaker asked, not-so-subtly trying to strike up a conversation to get out of doing research.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Snow said. "Ask Green what his name is."

"Uh, all right." He turned his attention to the scavenger sitting beside Snow, who was fiercely trying to read a scroll of his own, though these scrolls were far too complicated for his level of comprehension. "Hey Green, what's your name?"

"…Green," he replied, looking up to meet the large eyes of the dragon.

"What did he just say?" Snow asked Peacemaker.

"He said 'yibb' or something. Is that his real name?"

"No, his real name is Green. He just said Green. How could you have heard anything else? Even if we were speaking two different languages, you'd hear 'Green'. Something fishy is up, and we've got to find out what it is."

"Whoa," Peacemaker marveled. "That's awesome."

"…I wouldn't call it awesome," Snow said. "But it definitely proves something magic is going on."

"I can't believe Avarice is evil," Cliff mentioned, still scanning through his scroll. "I mean, everyone knew she was kinda iffy for wanting to kill all those scavengers, but the history scrolls really made her out to be some hero."

"Well, her name _is _Avarice," Snow pointed out. "Her parents kinda doomed her to be a bad guy with that name."

"How did she even manage to curse all the scavengers or whatever?" probed Peacemaker, having entirely given up on reading through the scrolls and just eating some strawberries from his pouch instead.

"That's another thing we don't know," Snow answered. "There are loads of theories in the scrolls I've read as to how she began the Scorching, but no one knows exactly what she did to convince all those dragons to suddenly massacre the scavengers."

"I wish I could've lived back in the day when dragons and scavengers used to get along," Peacemaker lamented.

"You and me both, pal," said Green, patting his scales.

"Maybe she was an animus?" Cliff suggested. "And she cursed all the scavengers using her magic, and then convinced the dragons that they were just an infestation of dumb insects that needed to be exterminated."

"I don't think she was an animus," said Snow. "She had been trying to convince dragons for a long time that they needed to get rid of scavengers. But everyone ignored her insane request and continued to co-exist with them. If she was an animus, why'd she wait so long to cast that spell?"

"…Hmm," Cliff hummed thoughtfully. "Good point. Something must've happened… right around when the Scorching started, that gave her the power to curse the scavengers."

Snow regarded what Cliff said for a moment. _I've been only reading up on comets that have passed over recently. What if I check for comets around the time of the Scorching…?_

He shuffled through the pile of scrolls they'd all collected from Starflight, looking for any that detailed old cosmological events, until he finally found one.

_Astronomy: From Before the Scorching until Today_, he read in his mind. He unrolled the scroll and skimmed through to find if there was anything useful.

That's when he saw it. He was so startled he almost dropped the scroll. It was a painted image of the very same comet staring back at him.

'_The Orb in the Sky,'_ he read mentally, '_passed over Pyrrhia the day before the Scorching. Some say it heralded the beginning of the age of dragon dominance.'_

Snow looked back to the image of the comet just above the text, and the resemblance was uncanny. It was definitely the same comet that had just passed over… except, it seemed much brighter than the more recent renditions.

"I've found something interesting," Snow said, still mystified by his discovery.

The two other dragonets and Green gathered around Snow to take a look at his scroll.

"No way…" said Cliff, his eyes scanning the text.

Green seemed appropriately confused as he looked at the scroll. "I know I'm learning to read dragon script and all, but I'm not _quite_ at this level of reading yet. What does it say?"

"It says that the same comet passed over right before the Scorching began 5000 years ago," Snow explained.

"That can't just be a coincidence," Peacemaker said, fully engrossed in the research now. "And is it just me, or is it way brighter than was in the other drawings?"

"I thought so too," said Snow.

Peacemaker dug around the pile of scrolls sitting beside them and pulled out one of the earlier ones they'd read. He scanned it briefly before turning it towards the others.

"Look at that," he said, pointing at an illustration of the comet that passed over 4 years ago. It was definitely much dimmer comparatively.

"Maybe it's just artistic license?" Snow suggested, though it was hard to believe that a scientifically minded dragon would purposefully draw an image incorrectly for artistic purposes.

"Look at this part near the bottom," Cliff said, pointing to the scroll Snow found.

Snow's eyes followed his claw, and he read aloud, "It is theorized that Avarice harnessed the energy of the Orb in the Sky, and used it to initiate the Scorching."

"You don't think…" Cliff began, looking deep in thought.

But Snow was sure of it. "She took some of the comet's light, just like I did. And it gave her some sort of power that let her curse the scavengers."

"Apparently she took a lot more of the comet's light than you did," Peacemaker pointed out. "I mean look how _bright_ it used to be."

"This must be why the curse doesn't affect me…" Snow said. "Now I know for sure that the comet is the reason I can understand scavengers. It's all connected."

_The comet…_ Snow mused. _It's the reason dragons can't understand scavengers… and the reason that I can._

He wasn't sure what to do with this information, but every piece of the puzzle brought him closer to his goal. Closer to solving the mystery of his power, and the mystery of the curse.

* * *

Satisfied with their breakthrough (and entirely tired of research), the three of them decided to call it a day. Peacemaker and Cliff left the library to enjoy their leisure time with their respective group of friends, as they did on most days.

Snow felt a little bad for eating up so much of their free time to do research. He hoped their friends didn't mind too much (especially Cliff's posse of SkyWings; he seemed like he was in high demand among them).

But before leaving the library, Snow strolled over to Starflight's desk. He had been meaning to return the scroll he borrowed about the tales of the Dragonets of Destiny, and pick up the next scroll in the story. He and Green had just finished the second scroll, and were eager to see what happens in the following installment.

As he approached the desk, he noticed that the blindfolded dragon was deeply focused on a pile of short parchments scattered in front of him.

"Um… Starflight?" Snow said when he arrived at the desk. "I'd like to return my scroll and borrow a new one, if it isn't too much trouble."

"Oh! Sorry Snowball," Starflight said, finally looking up in the general direction of Snow. "I was a bit distracted by this… conundrum. I have the next scroll in the series ready for you right here."

"Thank you," Snow said, as the two of them exchanged scrolls. "…If you don't mind me asking, what are you having trouble with?"

Starflight sighed. "I've been trying to figure out how to make a 'book,' which is a fancy Pantalan way of organizing information into little sheets of parchment that are bound at the edge."

_Oh, it's those things Green talks about sometimes_, Snow realized.

"But I just don't know where to start," Starflight continued. "Probably doesn't help that I'm blind," he muttered.

"Psst," whispered Green, hidden within the bag on Snow's back. "Tell him that he has to prick two holes into the edge of each page first."

"You have to prick two holes into the edge of each page," Snow repeated to Starflight.

"And make absolutely sure they're lined up," Green whispered.

"And make absolutely sure they're lined up," Snow added aloud.

Starflight regarded Snow with a curious look. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense. And then I'd insert the strings through and sew them together."

"And then add a layer of glue to the spine so that it's stabilized," Green said, a little too loudly this time.

Snow quickly covered it up with an exaggerated cough. "Ahem, and then you add a layer of glue to the spine, for… uh, stabilization."

"I see," Starflight said pensively. "That certainly would make the pages more liable to actually stick in place."

"Y-yes, that's correct," Snow hoped. _Geez, what have you gotten me into this time Green?_

"I had no idea you knew so much about books, Snowball," Starflight said, genuinely impressed. "I was under the impression that they were completely foreign in Pyrrhia."

"I-it's nothing…" Snow said. "A friend of mine told me about it."

Starflight nodded. "Well dragons are full of surprises sometimes. I appreciate the help regardless." His talons felt across the scattered pages in front of him. "Such precise work is going to be tricky though…"

Snow felt a pang of sympathy for the blindfolded dragon. What he'd been able to accomplish while being blind was already astounding to Snow, but this task seemed particularly difficult without the use of sight.

"Tell him you'll do it," Green whispered.

"I – I'll do it for you, if you'd like," Snow obliged before he had time to think.

Starflight smiled towards Snow warmly. "That's very sweet of you Snowball, but I pride myself on being able to achieve my goals despite my impairment. It might take a few attempts… or a few dozen attempts realistically…" he drifted off into deep thought.

"I insist," Snow said. "Please."

"Hmm, well having a fully formed book that I can inspect and work off would be very helpful. All right then, you can bind this _one_ book for me." Starflight gathered up the pages neatly into a stack and passed them to Snow. "But if it proves too difficult, don't feel embarrassed to come back and return them, okay?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you Snowball," Starflight said. "And I'd love to meet your friend that knows so much about books someday."

"Y-yeah, maybe someday…" he murmured. "Okay I gotta go now, bye."

Snow rushed out of the library before Starflight could question him further. He passed by the Arts and Crafts room, as per Green's instructions, and picked up all the necessary equipment required.

Finally, he arrived at the privacy of his sleeping cave.

"Green," he said as he put the bag down and extracted the scavenger from within. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry, I got this," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "And besides, you saw how Starflight looked. I couldn't _not_ offer to help him. He's like, my second favorite of the Dragonets of Destiny."

"But do you actually know what you're doing?" asked Snow.

"Of course I do!" Green huffed. "Who do you think you're talking to, birdbrain? I'm an expert at crafting stuff. Are you forgetting I made the bag on your back?"

"Making a book is a little different than a bag…"

"Well you're in luck, cause binding books was the first thing my parents taught me. That was their main job after all." He looked at all the pages and equipment Snow had placed on the floor. "…These pages _are_ a bit bigger than I'm used to, but nothing a little effort can't overcome."

"Need any help?" Snow offered.

"Nah, I'm fine." He picked up the needle Snow had retrieved earlier and held it like a shortsword. "I've missed crafting anyway. It's been way too long since I've made something."

He began laboriously poking two holes into each page, making sure they lined up with the previous one. _This is gonna take a while…_

"Dragons are so behind," Green said. "I couldn't believe it when you told me they hadn't figured out _books_ yet. I mean scrolls are just cumbersome after they become too long."

"Well the Pantalans figured them out… so really only the Pyrrhians are behind," Snow argued.

"It's not just books. Dragons don't have a lot of things we have," Green said, still poking holes into the pages. "Like weapons."

"We have weapons. Like spears and… um, other things."

"Those are nothing," Green said with a haughty chuckle. "We've got ballistas, catapults, trebuchets, and all that fun stuff."

"…I don't know what any of those words mean."

"Well hopefully you'll never need to. Scavengers are pretty desperate to have a defense against dragons, so they've spent a lot of time trying to find ways to kill them."

A fresh wave of guilt passed through Snow, as he remembered how difficult life must be for scavengers thanks to dragons. _They have to come up with all this stuff just to defend themselves from us… They're living in constant fear and terror._

"I'm sorry," Snow said, holding his head down.

He heard Green release a drawn-out sigh. "You're blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault again, Snow," he said, not looking up from the page he was working on.

"But I feel like I have to apologize… on behalf of the dragons… or something," he mumbled.

Green laughed. "Pretty sure that's not how that works. I don't represent all scavengers, and you _definitely_ don't represent all dragons, Snow. But your heart's in the right place."

_What good does having a heart in the right place do, while so many scavengers continue to suffer, _Snow wondered hopelessly.

He watched Green bind the book in silence for a little while after that.

_It really is impressive what those dexterous little scavenger hands can accomplish_, he admired. _His parents used to do this kind of thing as well…_

"Hey Green," Snow said. "You said you came with me to Jade Mountain to find your parents, right?"

"…That's one of the reasons, yes."

"Have you… made any progress on that front?" Snow asked.

Green sighed, shaking his head.

"Come on Green, don't tell me you're giving up on them."

"I'm not giving up," Green said. "I just don't have any leads. I don't even think there are any scavenger dens around here."

"Then let's go over what we know. How did they go missing?"

Green sighed once more. "Three years ago, we were all sitting in the hut together, eating breakfast. Then they decided to go down to town to get some more supplies… and they never came back. Simple as that."

Snow's heart tightened with grief every time he heard the story. Green must've been so worried and afraid and lonely. _Why would they leave and not come back?_ Snow wondered as hard as he could, looking for an answer.

An answer reached his mind; the same answer that always came to mind whenever he asked himself that question. The answer that he desperately tried not to think about. _Dragons_.

He shook his head, trying to physically shake the thought out of his mind. Even if it was the most likely possibility, he didn't want to think about it. And he would never dare say it out loud, especially since the thought had seemingly never crossed Green's mind.

"Maybe they got lost and ended up in a different den?" Snow tried.

"Yeah, maybe," Green said, stitching some of the large pages together. "Or maybe they got tired of raising a brat like me and decided to live a better life elsewhere."

"No way, they wouldn't do that," Snow argued. "Everything you've ever told me about them makes them sound super nice and pleasant. Not exactly the type of people who would abandon their son."

"But I was just a kid back then. Maybe I'm just remembering what I want to remember."

Snow slumped a little.

"Oh don't go looking so depressed," Green said. "I really don't care what they think. I just want to know why. And that's why I'm gonna find them."

_If they're out there… I'll help you find them_, Snow thought determinedly. _And I'll make a world where dragons and scavengers can get along… so that no child ever has to be left alone because of something dragons did._

"Besides," Green continued. "My life is pretty great. I'm living in a mountain full of dragons! How many scavengers can say they've done that?"

"Approximately one," Snow answered.

"Exactly! I'm making history. Don't worry, I'll make sure to say nice things about you when I write my autobiography."

Snow rolled his eyes and curled down near Green, settling comfortably around him. He laid his snout on his talons, content to just watch Green go through the motions.

"When I'm done with Jade Mountain Academy," Snow said. "I'll take you to every scavenger den on Pyrrhia. Until we find them."

He caught Green smiling out of the corner of his eye. "Looking forward to it."

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is a bit all over the place! I wanted to cover the research scene, but it was not nearly long enough to be its own chapter. And I'd been meaning to address the Green stuff as well for a while. So I merged them into one chapter, but it kinda came out looking like two separate chapters shoved together. I hope you all still enjoyed it!_


	21. Chapter 20

**~ CHAPTER 20 ~**

Snow was sprawled comfortably across the large pillow atop his sleeping spot, reading through the needlessly wordy history scroll he'd been given for homework. _It's like they were trying to make it as boring as possible_, he thought as he tried to digest the same paragraph he'd been reading for the past several minutes.

Green was sitting by his side, quietly perusing his own scroll. It looked comically oversized in his hands, but that didn't appear to bother Green as he diligently read through it. Or rather, read through parts of it. He still wasn't terribly proficient in reading dragon script, but Snow thought he'd been progressing at an impressive rate.

Wordlessly, they continued to work through their respective scrolls, just like they usually would on their days off. _But something is a little different today, _Snow thought, as Cliff's soft sleeping sounds echoed throughout the otherwise silent cave.

Usually, Cliff and Peacemaker were out of the sleeping cave by morning to go spend their day off with their other friends. And while Peacemaker had long since left, Cliff was still sleeping soundly in his pile of pillows up on the rocky ledge.

Snow had been waking him up every day for the past two weeks, since he always seemed to be deep in sleep even when the morning rolled in. Today, he decided instead to just let Cliff sleep until whenever he naturally woke up, considering it wasn't a school day so they had no classes to attend.

_I hope he doesn't mind_, Snow thought with a bit of worry as noon rolled around. He'd been asleep far longer than Snow thought he would be.

Finally, he heard some stirring noises from the ledge above, followed by a long yawn.

"Well look who's finally up," Snow called from below.

The drowsy dragon poked his head out from atop the rocky ledge. "Good morning, Snow."

"…It's long past morning, Cliff. I think you mean 'good afternoon.'"

"Noon?!" Cliff exclaimed, falling off of the ledge and onto the floor with a crash.

"Are you all right?" Snow asked with alarm.

"Ow," Cliff said as he got onto his feet, but he looked unharmed. "I'm fine. More importantly, why didn't you wake me up?"

"Sorry... I thought you'd like to sleep in for once," said Snow, with his head hanging down. "I'm sorry, that was probably stupid of me."

"Well, I can't deny that it was pleasant," Cliff admitted. "So thank you for that."

A small wave of relief passed through Snow's scales after hearing that.

Cliff yawned once more before continuing to speak. "I thought you'd forgotten about me when I woke up without seeing you up on the ledge. I guess I'd gotten used to your face being the first thing I see every day."

"Is that… a bad thing?" Snow asked cautiously.

"Not at all," he said, as he stretched away the morning fatigue. "It makes waking up a little less terrible."

Snow was pleased to hear that. He very much enjoyed waking Cliff up every morning.

"Good afternoon, Green," Cliff called to the scavenger, who rudely didn't even look up from his scroll.

"Sorry, he's just very focused," Snow explained. "He probably didn't even hear you."

"That's okay," said Cliff, strutting over to Snow's sleeping spot to take a look at his scroll. "What were you reading?"

"Nothing interesting. Just that one history scroll that Webs assigned to us as homework. It's a real pain to work through."

"Want me to help you out?"

Snow looked at him with surprise. "Aren't you gonna go hang out with your SkyWing friends? It's our day off, in case you've forgotten."

Cliff waved his talon dismissively. "Nah, I'll stick around here. It's past noon, so they're probably already getting into mischief without me."

Snow felt a stab of guilt in his chest. "I should've woken you up..."

"No no, don't feel bad. They're a handful anyway. You've given me the perfect excuse to just relax in the sleeping cave all day."

"Oh. Well in that case, yes I'd like your help," Snow said. Cliff was unsurprisingly adept at history. _Probably had to study a lot of that back at the palace_, thought Snow.

But before they could get started, Snow heard footfalls approaching the sleeping cave entrance, followed by the prompt appearance of Shiver the IceWing.

Snow yelped mentally at the sight of her and instinctively moved behind Cliff.

Her perfect, proper posture and emotionless demeanor were just like he remembered them from self-defense class. Though she still looked terrifying to Snow, he had to admit that her glimmering light blue scales were pleasant to look at. He glanced over the long, crystalline spines lining her back, feeling a bit ashamed that his own spikes were so unnaturally short.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Cliff, standing in front of Snow with a protective stance.

She curtly bowed towards Cliff and said, "I am here for Snowball."

Cliff regarded her with a confused expression, before turning to Snow. "Do you know her?" he whispered.

"She's an… acquaintance," Snow replied, unsure if 'acquaintance' was the right word.

"Oooh," Cliff said, with a knowing look. "I see. You've got a date. Wow Snow, I didn't know you had it in you."

"N-no! That's not it at all," Snow corrected, immediately flustered at the thought. "She's the IceWing I sparred during self-defense class and then made that deal with."

"Deal?" echoed Cliff.

"I didn't tell you about the deal?"

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember if you told me you made a deal with an IceWing."

_I forgot to tell him about that whole encounter,_ Snow realized. _I was so distracted by Cliff getting accidentally slashed by Canary that it must've slipped my mind._

"Well," Snow began, "the basic gist of it is we agreed that whoever lost the fight would have to take lessons from the other. If I lost, I'd have to take her 'IceWing lessons,' and if she lost, then she'd have to take my 'kindness lessons.' I somehow managed to scrape out a draw, so now we both get to give each other lessons."

"I see," said Cliff, sneaking a glance at Shiver, who was still politely standing by the entrance.

"May I come in?" Shiver asked.

"Oh, er, yes. You may enter," Cliff replied.

She walked into the cave with a flawless gait, stopping a short ways away from the two dragons. "My name is Shiver," she said, with another curt bow towards the SkyWing. "It's an honor to meet you, Prince Cliff."

"Oh, you're Shiver," Cliff said. "One of Canary's clawmates, right?"

"That is correct," she said with a nod. "I must apologize; I hadn't expected you to still be in the sleeping cave by noon. I had intended to come and fulfill my agreement with Snowball when he was alone, so as not to bother any of his clawmates."

"I can leave, if it'd make you two more comfortabl–"

"No!" Snow interrupted. A little too loudly, he realized, as both of the dragonets gave him a curious look. "I mean… no, you don't have to if you don't want to, Cliff. This is your sleeping cave too after all. We can't just kick you out."

"I have no problem with Prince Cliff being audience to our lessons," Shiver added.

Snow leaned in to whisper into Cliff's ear. "Please don't go. I know I'm supposed to be working on my confidence and all, but IceWings are still very scary. I'd be more comfortable if you stuck around."

"Hey, that's totally fine with me," he whispered in return, putting a warm talon on Snow's back. "I'm your knight in shining armor, remember? I'll protect you."

Snow gave him a wobbly smile in return.

"Besides," Cliff continued quietly. "I think this is going to be hilarious to watch."

Snow looked back to check up on Green. His head was still buried in the scroll, completely unfazed by the events that had just occurred. _Did he even notice Shiver walking in?_ Snow wondered. _His level of focus is astounding… and a little worrying._

Not entirely trusting Shiver around Green, he picked up the scavenger and dropped him off in his enclosed room, closing the door after him. Impressively, Green still didn't look up from the scroll, even as he was being hauled into a new location.

He trotted back to Cliff's side and nervously looked to Shiver, who appeared somewhat impressed by his ability to move Green without him noticing.

"Shall we begin?" she asked, her face as steeled as always. "There is a lot we need to work on before you can pass as a respectable IceWing."

"A-actually, I was hoping we could start with my lesson, if you don't mind. It won't be too long or anything…"

Snow had fortunately been planning out his little lesson for the past few days in preparation for this event. He very much doubted any of it would work, but there was no harm in trying. _And maybe her lessons won't be so bad if I soften her up with mine first,_ he hoped.

"Very well," she said with a sigh. "Let's get this over and done with. Teach me how to be 'kind.'"

Snow straightened up and began speaking. "The first step to being kind is complimenting others," he explained. "Compliments are a very useful and easy way to make others happy, and would go a long way to making you friendlier."

Her brow creased ever so slightly, and her face had 'this is ridiculous' written all over it. But nevertheless, she diligently continued to listen.

"I noticed you had a lot of… negative things to say during our brief interaction in self-defense class," Snow said. "If you balanced it out with some more positive comments, you'd be a lot kinder. Why don't you start off by trying to give me a compliment?" he suggested.

"All right," Shiver said, clearing her throat. "Snowball, you are beautiful."

Cliff almost barked out a laugh, but quickly covered it with a cough. "Are you sure this isn't a date, Snow?" he asked, looking far too amused.

"It's not!" Snow said, beginning to feel flustered. _Maybe I should've done this in private after all…_

"My apologies," Shiver said. "By the looks on your faces, I gather I did something wrong. Was my compliment lacking?"

"N-no, it was definitely not lacking. I'm very flattered… but it might be a bit too strong of a compliment. Maybe tone it down a little in the future."

"You want my compliments to be… less strong?" she asked with confusion. "Why would I want to be less strong in anything? We IceWings prioritize strength over all."

"Well, there's a time and a place for compliments like those, but if you tell someone they're beautiful out of nowhere, they might get the wrong idea…"

She tilted her head perplexedly.

Snow sighed. "They might think you're trying to… court them."

"Ah, I see. I understand how that could be an issue," she said with a pensive expression on her face. To her credit, it looked like she was genuinely absorbing the lesson as best she could.

"Casual compliments should be more subtle," Snow continued. "You want to make others feel good about themselves, without coming over the top and making them think you're expressing romantic interest. It's a very delicate art."

Shiver nodded studiously.

"Wow Snow," Cliff said. "You really know what you're talking about. I didn't realize you put so much thought into this stuff."

"Well, I don't have to think too hard when it comes to complimenting you, since you're an amazing dragon in so many different ways."

"Daww, thanks Snow," Cliff said, playfully head-butting Snow's shoulder.

"Interesting. So that is how it's done," Shiver said, mentally taking notes. "I'm rather impressed that you've managed to develop such an interpersonal relationship with the prince of the SkyWings. Maybe there is a purpose to excessive benevolence after all."

"I've found that flattery is very effective on SkyWings," Snow educated.

"Hey!" Cliff said. "Actually yeah that's pretty accurate."

Snow thought for a moment. _I need to approach this from an IceWing's point of view if I want Shiver to actually learn. She needs to see the benefit of being kind, or she'll have a hard time taking it seriously._

"You may think being kind is unnecessary, but it has its uses," Snow said. "Being kind to others is a great way of making friends. I think you'll find that with your current… attitude, making friends with anyone that isn't an IceWing will be difficult."

"Hmm, well I admit that I've had very limited interaction with members of other tribes…" She shrugged. "I don't see the value in developing a companionship with them."

_Geez, what kind of dragon doesn't want friends?_ Snow thought to himself. "The value is having someone to talk to, to trust, and to share your experiences with. I think you'll find life is a lot more enjoyable if you have friends by your side."

Shiver looked at Snow with a confused (and somewhat condescending) look.

He sighed. "Just… take my word for it for the time being. The next part of this lesson is for you to learn how to make friends. You can start by making friends with Cliff. Is that okay with you?" Snow asked Cliff.

"Of course! I don't mind being your assistant, _Professor_ Snow," Cliff responded with a smile, entirely entertained by the whole faux-class scenario.

Shiver stood up even straighter now, looking more attentive. "I shall give it my best effort. I can definitely see the value of befriending the prince of the SkyWings."

"Okay, kind of missing the point, but that's fine for now," said Snow, as Cliff briefly frowned at her. _Not off to a great start._ "Everyone has a different method of making friends," Snow lectured, "so just do whatever feels natural."

Shiver nodded and turned her attention towards Cliff. "Prince Cliff, I request that we become friends, as you would make a powerful ally for the IceWings."

"Really?" Cliff asked with a raised eyebrow. "That was the angle you decided to go for?"

"Don't you agree that it would be a good way to bridge the gap between SkyWings and IceWings?" Shiver asked earnestly. "Especially after the political unrest caused by the capturing and murder of numerous IceWings due to the late Queen Scarlet's involvement in the War of SandWing Succession–"

"Stop!" Cliff interjected. "Three moons, I can't believe how bad you are at this," he said, putting a talon on his forehead. "This isn't a political arrangement between two parties. You're supposed to be trying to make _friends_, Shiver. Ignore the fact that I'm a prince and just pretend that I'm a regular dragon."

Shiver cocked her head to the side curiously. "But why would I want to befriend you if you were just an ordinary dragon?"

"All right," Cliff said. "I give up. This is hopeless."

_Oh boy, this is gonna take a lot more than one lesson_, Snow realized. "…We'll call it a good first attempt."

"I take it I did something wrong?" Shiver asked.

"It's okay," Snow said. "You tried your best, and that's all that matters. We'll work on it in the future. Let's switch over to your IceWing lessons."

"Thank goodness," Shiver said quietly.

"Thank you for taking me seriously," Snow said. "I was kind of expecting you to just ignore whatever I was saying, but it looks like you were paying attention."

"Well of course," Shiver said matter-of-factly. "A deal is a deal, and I give a hundred percent to everything I do, even if it's some silly nonsense like learning to be kind."

_Bit of a rude thing to say_, Snow thought. _We'll have to work on that too in the future._

"I only hope that you treat my lessons with the same respect," Shiver said.

She switched to a more dominant posture, looking impressively like a professor as opposed to a student. It was enough to make Snow remember how much he was dreading this.

With no idea what she had planned, Snow braced himself for the upcoming IceWing lessons.


	22. Chapter 21

**~ CHAPTER 21 ~**

Shiver's authoritative glare was equal parts impressive and intimidating. As soon as it was her turn to be the 'teacher' and provide the lesson, she was able to exude an aura of dominance that was somehow hidden during Snow's earlier lesson.

_Aargh, why did I make this stupid deal anyway?_ Snow thought, reprimanding his past self for his brashness. He was really feeling the nervousness now, as evidenced by his shrunken form sinking lower into the floor of their sleeping cave. _At least Cliff is with me_, he thought to himself.

"You know," Cliff whispered to Snow. "This whole 'IceWing lessons' thing might actually be helpful. Maybe it'll help you build up confidence, since, you know… IceWings usually have too much of it."

"Y-yeah, maybe," Snow said.

Cliff regarded Snow for a moment, before scooching closer to him, until they were barely separated. Snow could feel the heat radiating from his scales.

"I'm right here beside you," Cliff whispered. "There's nothing to worry about when I'm around. You can just… chill out."

Snow rolled his eyes at the SkyWing, but felt a small smile emerge. "For someone who's so good at talking to others, your jokes sure need some work."

"Are you two done with your chitchat?" Shiver asked. "I'd like to begin."

"Yes ma'am– er, Shiver," Snow stammered, feeling an eerily similar sensation to that of a teacher catching him talking during class.

"Very well, I shall commence the lesson. I request your utmost attention and focus."

Snow nodded compliantly. _She was very attentive when I was talking. The least I could do is return the favor._

"Contrary to popular belief," Shiver began, "being an IceWing does not mean being 'cold and cruel and scary,' as you so impolitely suggested during self-defense class," she said with a pointed look at Snow.

"Well I think the 'cold' part is accurate," Cliff said under his breath, nudging Snow with his elbow. Snow let out a quiet chuckle that he'd hoped wasn't too noticeable.

Shiver shot Cliff an icy glare.

"Sorry, I'll be quiet now."

She cleared her throat and continued. "Though it may conflict with your over-abundant kindness in some areas, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The key to being an IceWing is presentation."

"Presentation?" Snow repeated.

"Yes. You must be presentable at any given moment, so that whenever you're viewed by another dragon, they recognize you as someone to be respected and feared. You are severely lacking in that department."

"…That's fair," said Snow.

"For example, you always walk with your head down, avoiding the gazes of other dragons. It does not inspire much confidence, and frankly it looks rather uncomfortable."

_Has she been watching me…?_ Snow mused. "Sorry. I have some, uh, difficulties dealing with strangers. So I do my best to not engage with them."

"Well it's ridiculous and it makes you look pitiful," she said bluntly. "It's not just your head that's down either, your entire body is low to the ground when you walk. Dragons are going to start mistaking you for a SandWing."

"Oh, I didn't realize I was walking like that. Might be a side effect of being raised by a SandWing."

"Three moons, you were fostered by a SandWing?" she asked with disbelief. "I suppose I should've known. If you were raised by an IceWing, you wouldn't have turned out like… this." She gestured toward Snow's entire body.

"Sorry…" Snow said, hanging his head down.

"Hey!" said Cliff. "No need for rude comments."

"This brings me to my second point," Shiver continued, ignoring Cliff. "You must stop apologizing so much."

"But I'm usually in the wrong so…"

"You rarely are," Cliff interjected. "I actually agree with Shiver here. You say sorry for the silliest things sometimes. Remember when Peacemaker tripped and fell into your wet painting during art class? You were the one apologizing for some reason."

"Well, I got paint all over his scales," Snow recalled.

"No, _he_ got paint all over his scales. He's the one who tripped, and he ruined your painting no less. He should've been the only one apologizing, but you felt the need to as well."

"Okay… I can see your point there."

"And remember that time I accidentally stepped on your tail?" Cliff continued.

"Oh yeah, sorry again about that."

"No Snow," Cliff said with exasperation. "That was clearly my fault! What are you even apologizing for?"

"My tail was in your way…" Snow said quietly, trying not to irritate Cliff further.

Cliff sighed. "Just… try to at least be _fairly_ certain you're in the wrong before you say sorry, all right?"

"The prince is correct," Shiver said. "Apologizing when you've done nothing wrong will give others the impression that you're a feeble dragon who is easy to influence and overcome."

"Well, I wouldn't say that's inaccurate," Snow mumbled, "but I will do my best to cut back on the apologies."

"Good," Shiver said. "Always remember; you are an IceWing. You are a part of the strongest tribe in the world."

Snow could see Cliff rolling his eyes beside him.

"That fact alone should provide you with boundless confidence," she added.

"…Am I really an IceWing though?" Snow asked. "I was raised by a SandWing in a mountain. I've never even seen snow. And up until a few weeks ago, I'd never met another IceWing. I don't even _look_ right. The spikes lining my back are way shorter than any other IceWing's spikes."

"You're still an IceWing," Shiver said. "Even despite the peculiar circumstances regarding your upbringing, and your… strange deformity."

_Deformity… _The word echoed ruthlessly in Snow's mind. It was the first time anyone had ever acknowledged that there was something wrong with his spines. He'd always known it himself of course, but hearing it said out loud… was painful. Much more so than he thought it'd be.

_Is that what everyone's been thinking this whole time?_ Snow wondered miserably. He prayed that he did not look as dejected as he felt, though he suspected that his sunken wings and misty eyes gave him away.

"Hey!" Cliff objected loudly and angrily, looking toward Shiver with his brow furrowed. "Don't call it a deformity, you insensitive jerk! He's just a little different. Besides, I think his spines look better this way." He wrapped a wing around Snow. "It's like his entire being is so friendly and kind, that even his spikes decided to be as nonviolent as possible."

Snow looked up to his friend with a shaky smile, as his warmth fought back the bleak feelings. "Thanks Cliff."

Shiver looked at the two dragons with an undecipherable expression. _Disappointment?_ Snow guessed. _Or maybe it's something else_. He still found it very hard to tell what Shiver was feeling thanks to her emotionless demeanor.

"I must apologize for offending you," she said with a curt bow towards Snow. "That was not my intention. While having short spines is a rather rare occurrence, it does not affect very much in the grand scheme of things. However, I am displeased to see that you needed someone to defend you. Allies are important, but IceWings are independent creatures at their core. You should have defended yourself."

"Well in SkyWing culture, when a friend is being insulted, you come to their aid," said Cliff.

"You didn't 'come to his aid.' You fought his entire battle while he cowered under your wing. What is he going to do when you're not around and he has to defend himself?"

"I'll always be by his side!" Cliff said gallantly, wrapping Snow even tighter under his wing.

"Are you suggesting you'll hang around him forever?"

"Maybe I am!"

Shiver's brow creased in a rare display of emotion. She looked irritated. "You may think you're being valiant by playing the hero and protecting him constantly, but you're just conditioning him to be weak. How is he supposed to grow if you keep coddling him?"

"He doesn't need to grow or be strong if I'm around," Cliff said proudly.

By the look on Shiver's face, Cliff's response was apparently _not_ the correct answer. More and more anger managed to bleed past her usually impassive expression.

"You're being selfish, prince," she spat, her pale blue tail lashing at the cavern floor. "You don't care if he grows or improves because you don't care about _him_. You only care about yourself, and the sick satisfaction you get from feeling needed by someone else. You're perfectly fine with letting him stay weak forever because that means you'll always have someone who needs you. Someone to 'protect.' But all you're protecting him from is self-improvement."

Cliff looked scandalized at her accusations and opened his mouth to rebut, but Shiver wasn't done speaking.

"I bet you're the type of dragon who goes around helping whoever's in trouble, particularly preying on those who are meek and easy to please, just so you get the twisted gratification that comes from their approval. If you really wanted to help others, you wouldn't be solving their problems for them. You'd help them solve it _themselves_. Did you thank the moons for granting you such a timid dragon as your clawmate? Were you elated to find the perfect specimen to take advantage of and manipulate for your benefit? Does your vile desire to be needed come from your royal genes? Is that why you think it's better to leave everyone around you as weak as possible? So you can be better than everyone–"

"Shiver!" Snow interrupted. "That's enough!"

"I…" Shiver began, looking a bit shocked at her own outburst. "Apologies. I got carried away."

'_Carried away' is an understatement,_ Snow thought. _That was way too harsh!_ He wriggled out from underneath Cliff's wings to get a better look at him. The SkyWing looked entirely shaken up by her words.

"That's… that's not why I help others," Cliff said, though he sounded unsure of himself. "I do it because… it's the right thing to do."

Shiver looked like she wanted to disagree, but wisely decided to keep quiet instead.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to help others in need," Snow reassured. "Shiver clearly hasn't taken enough kindness lessons to understand that yet," he said, shooting her a disapproving look.

"I apologize for my ill-mannered outburst, but I stand by what I said in regards to defending yourself." Her expression was back to her default impassive look. It was almost impressive how quickly she managed to compose herself.

As much as Snow didn't want to admit it, he could understand where she was coming from. If Cliff fought all of Snow's battles for him, Snow would grow increasingly dependent on him. It would eventually stunt his growth, and he might stay timid and cowardly forever. _Is that what Cliff really wants? He did say I don't need to grow… And it would be a lot easier for me if I just hid behind Cliff forever…_

_Aargh! No! _Snow scolded himself._ I can't be coddled forever. That's the whole reason I'm like this anyway. And it's why Cactus had to send me away. So I could grow._

"You're right, Shiver," Snow said. "I can't hide behind Cliff forever."

Cliff looked to Snow with a hurt expression.

"_But_," Snow continued. "I think it's fine to defend a friend in need, and maybe even coddle them a little sometimes. I want to grow and get stronger so I can help defend my friends like they defend me." Snow put his talon on Cliff's shoulder. "And if that's against the 'IceWing way,' then I'm not interested in being an IceWing."

A moment of silence passed as he stared down Shiver.

"Very well," she finally said. "I am willing to compromise on that aspect. Independency is important, but not essential. If you need allies to help you out constantly, it will make life difficult eventually, but it isn't a huge issue for now."

"Well, uh, good," Snow replied, not expecting her to be so agreeable.

"I must say though, I am impressed that you stood up to me like that. There may be an IceWing in you yet."

_Oh, I guess I did stand up to her in the end_, he realized."It's a lot easier to do when you're standing up for a friend," Snow said, smiling at Cliff. He still looked somewhat rattled by the whole ordeal.

"Thanks Snow. I… I really appreciate it." He returned his own smile, though it felt weaker than usual.

"I must apologize again, Prince Cliff. I forgot my place," she said with a bow.

Cliff shook his head, as if shaking out his doubts. "No, it's okay," he said with his signature smile back up, as if nothing had happened (though Snow could sense it was a front).

"I do hope that this interaction hasn't damaged our budding camaraderie," said Shiver, which earned a surprised look out of Cliff.

"You still want to be my friend? After that entire angry rant?" Cliff asked.

"I do," Shiver said. "Misguided as your methods may be, it's obvious that you cherish Snow a great deal. I still think friends are unnecessary, but if I had to make one, I suppose I wouldn't mind it being someone like you."

Cliff laughed loudly, much to Shiver's confusion. "You know what? You're not so bad Shiver. A bit harsh and insensitive, but I think you just want what's best for Snow. Maybe IceWings aren't as bad as everyone says."

"Thank you, Prince Cliff." Shiver looked pensively towards the ground, as though she was trying very hard to come up with her next line. "You… are… pleasant to be around."

"Whoa, great job Shiver," Snow praised. "That wasn't a bad compliment. You're a quick learner. With a little more practice, you might just be a friendly dragon one day."

"Well, that is a horrifying thought," said Shiver. "But I did agree to these lessons, and as such I will give it my all to satisfactorily meet your requirements."

"If you need some extra practice," Cliff chimed in. "You should try making friends with your clawmates. Canary thinks you're cool, but she finds you very hard to approach."

"Yeah! That's a great idea Cliff," said Snow. "That can be your homework. You have to become Canary's friend."

Shiver gives Snow a serious nod. "I will unequivocally complete this task to the best of my ability. You have my word."

"…Glad to see you're taking this seriously," Snow said with an awkward chuckle. _Maybe a bit too seriously._

"I shall take my leave then. Until next time," she said with a nod and a bow, then turned around and exited the sleeping cave.

Snow let out a huge breath of relief. "That was nerve-wracking," he said. _But not as bad as I thought_.

"Yeah…" Cliff responded absentmindedly. He looked to be deep in thought.

"Hey, you're not still worried about what she said, right?" Snow asked.

"No… well, maybe a little," he admitted. "…I'm sorry for saying you shouldn't grow or improve."

"That's okay," replied Snow, rubbing Cliff's slumped back with his talon.

"It's not okay," Cliff said with his head held down apologetically. "I think she was right, Snow. I've just been using you cause I like being the hero. And you're… well… the perfect dragon to be 'rescued.'"

Snow shook his head. "Regardless of your intentions, you've helped me out a ton. My life here at Jade Mountain has been way better because of you."

Cliff shifted in place silently, but still looked downcast.

"If it's any consolation," Snow continued. "It made me really happy when you said you'd always be by my side. Even if it was super cheesy."

Cliff let out a short laugh. "I guess I was trying to sound like a hero."

"Well… I hope you meant it," said Snow, fidgeting with his claws. "I think it would be nice if we were still friends even after we're done with Jade Mountain Academy. I mean, if you want to be. I'm sure you'll be busy, being a prince and all–"

"I meant it," Cliff said abruptly. "Sorry Snow, but you're too good a friend for me to just let you go after school's over. I'm afraid you're stuck with me forever."

Snow found himself smiling involuntarily. "Now you're sounding more like a villain than a hero. Are you planning on taking me hostage?"

"If that's what it takes," said Cliff. "It wouldn't be very hard, you know."

Snow laughed. _It looks like Cliff is feeling better now_, he thought. _I hope what Shiver said doesn't bother him for too long._

"Snow," Cliff said, with an intense glint in his golden eyes. "I'm going to help you grow. So you can be a dragon that can defend himself, even when I'm not around."

His eyes had a powerful determination that made it hard to look away. There was something so mesmerizing about it, and Snow found himself staring deeply into them. For a little too long.

Snow managed to pry his eyes away eventually, feeling his face warm up. "S-sounds good to me," he managed to say. _Geez, what's gotten into me?_

Cliff laughed softly. "Looks like we both learned something from Shiver's lessons, huh?"

"Yeah. Looks like we did," Snow said.


	23. Chapter 22

**~ CHAPTER 22 ~**

"Are you ready Snow?" Cliff's voice called from the entrance of their sleeping cave.

"Almost!" Snow called back, before turning his attention to the little scavenger in front of him. "Are you _sure_ you don't want to come?"

"Yes Snow," Green said. "My answer hasn't changed from the last twenty times you've asked. I don't want to go with you to your 'combat tutorial' with Cliff."

After their encounter with Shiver the previous day, it seemed like Cliff took her words to heart. The next morning, he had offered to teach Snow to fight (or at the very least defend himself in the face of danger). Supposedly, it would help with Snow build confidence as well ("Maybe a part of your nervousness around strangers comes from the fact that you'd be defenseless if they went feral and decided to assault you," Cliff had said, morbidly).

"But… are you gonna be safe all by yourself?" Snow asked Green. "What if a dragon comes inside our sleeping cave and attacks you or something?"

Green sighed. "First of all, why would any dragon come into your sleeping cave when none of you are here? Second of all, even if a dragon did come inside, nobody would attack me because there's a strict no-hurting-scavengers policy. And third of all, I'm going to be in my little room in the wall the whole time! So even if a rabid dragon _did_ come into the sleeping cave and wanted to hurt me, they wouldn't fit through the tiny door to my room. I could freely taunt them from the other side of the glass wall. I'm completely safe."

"But…"

"No buts! If you're so worried about my safety, then you should realize that having me in your bag while you're rolling around and fighting would probably be _way_ less safe than me sitting in my room."

"…All right, fine," Snow said with heavy reluctance. "But promise me you won't leave your room until I get back, okay?"

"As you wish, sire," Green said with an exaggerated hand movement as he entered the room and jumped backwards into his scavenger bed. "Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much?"

"Yes. You. All the time."

"Well, you do," Green said, pulling a large scroll into his lap. "Hope you have fun out there today."

Snow stared at the scavenger beyond the glass wall with paralyzing hesitance.

"Just go already!" Green yelled.

"All right all right! I'm going," replied Snow, turning to leave quickly before his indecision decided to grip him once more. He walked beyond the cave entrance and out into the tunnel, where Cliff and Peacemaker were waiting for him.

"_Finally_," Peacemaker said.

"Sorry. I was having, uh, second thoughts about leaving Green behind," Snow said as they began walking together towards their destination. He was already feeling a little strange not having Green with him for the first time since he came to Jade Mountain. _It feels oddly… empty_, he thought.

"Well it's probably for the best," Cliff piped up. "I'm going to need your utmost focus and attention today, and having to worry about Green's safety would just hold you back."

"I guess you're right," Snow said, trying to get used to the lack of weight on his back as he walked through the tunnels. "Oh, and thanks again guys for taking time out of your day to teach me how to fight."

Truth be told, Snow wasn't super enthusiastic about the upcoming fighting lesson, but he enjoyed being with his friends a touch more than he dreaded fighting.

"Oh, is that what we're doing?" Peacemaker asked. "That sounds like fun."

_He didn't know…?_

"Yes, that's what we're doing," Cliff said. "And I've brought you along to be Snow's opponent, while I act as a referee and coach."

Snow relaxed a little. _I thought I was going to have to fight with Cliff. Peacemaker seems like an easier opponent._

"Hey!" Peacemaker said with a frown at Snow. "What makes you think I'd be less challenging than Cliff?"

"I-I didn't say that."

"Well your face sure did. I saw how you relaxed when Cliff said I'd be your opponent."

_He sure can be weirdly observant at times_, Snow thought. "All right, you got me. But it's not that I think you're weaker! It's just… you're a little more… playful," said Snow carefully.

"Well I hope you're not thinking this is gonna be a walk in the park," Peacemaker said. "I take my play-fights _very_ seriously."

"Isn't that the opposite of what you're supposed to do in a play-fight…?"

"We're here," Cliff announced, as the three dragonets walked out into the sunlit plateau where they had their first self-defense class. Memories of being nervous flooded back to Snow, as he scanned over the flat, empty expanse of rocky floor where he had once battled Shiver. The cool morning breeze was offset by the pleasant warm glow of the early sun. It was early enough in the day that no other dragons were there, which Snow was grateful for.

Cliff flew up to the elevated ledge where Clay had once sat. "I'll be overseeing the fight from up here."

"Couldn't you just watch the fight from the same level as us?" Snow asked.

"Well, yeah probably," Cliff said. "But I'm a SkyWing. I like being in high places."

Snow chuckled, earning a huff out of Cliff. "You're like an oversized bird."

"You shouldn't be teasing your coach!" Cliff warned.

"Sorry, coach," Snow said half-heartedly.

"Ooo, can I call you coach too," Peacemaker asked.

"No, you're my assistant," said Cliff. "And I'd like you to stand over there, and you stand over there Snow," he directed, pointing at the opposite ends of the arena. "Now, the goal of this fight is for you to get on top of your opponent. If you can do that in a real fight, you'll be in a great position to bite or claw or do whatever to your enemy… but obviously don't do any of that in this fight."

"So I just need to get on top of Snow?" Peacemaker asked.

"Yes. And Snow needs to try to get on top of you."

_Okay, fairly straight forward,_ Snow thought to himself as he looked at Peacemaker across the small arena.

"Start!" Cliff called.

Snow launched into the air and flew over to above where Peacemaker is. _If I act quickly enough, maybe he won't have time to react._

It looked like his idea was working, as Peacemaker hadn't even moved yet. Snow hastily attempted to land on top of Peacemaker from above, but the hybrid saw it coming. He reared up on his hind legs, grabbing Snow during his descent and dragging him to the ground, before plonking himself down on top of him.

"I win!"

"Ow," Snow said, as he recovered from being slammed into the ground. _He just dragged my whole body down like it was nothing_, Snow thought with astonishment.

Peacemaker grinned down at the IceWing. "Told ya I was strong."

"And he's a lot heavier than you too," Cliff said from the raised ledge, "so that automatically gives him a major advantage."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ heavy."

"You're going to find that most of your opponents are heavier than you Snow," Cliff continued, "considering how light you are. And the heavier they are, the stronger they'll be during a fight."

"Oh great, as if I needed more handicaps to deal with during a fight," Snow grumbled.

"_But, _we can twist that disadvantage to our favor," said Cliff.

Snow cocked his head inquiringly.

"You're clearly not strong," Cliff said (rather harshly, Snow thought), "but you _are_ nimble and dexterous. That is your one advantage over heavier dragons. You may not be able to hit as hard as they can, but with some practice, you'll be able to move around the battlefield fast enough that they won't be able to hurt you."

Snow nodded studiously.

"Now try again," Cliff instructed, as both dragonets moved back to their original positions. "Start!"

This time, Snow waited for Peacemaker to charge at him instead, and speedily dodged into the air at the last moment.

"Good!" he heard Cliff call out.

_Now while he's turning back around, I'll dive at him,_ Snow schemed, and then promptly put his plan into action. He dove at the dark dragon, but Peacemaker seemed to have predicted his strategy, as he quickly flew upwards and dodged the dive.

Snow landed on the ground beneath where Peacemaker had been, and had almost no time to react before Peacemaker landed down on him, sitting on the IceWing's back.

"I win again! Brrr," Peacemaker said with a shiver. "You're cold. It's like I'm sitting down on a pile of snow. Wait, I _am_ sitting on Snow. Hah!"

"Oof, you really are heavy," Snow wheezed, barely able to move beneath the weight of his friend.

"Hey now! I'm just a little plump."

"Remember to focus on agility and maneuverability!" Cliff called out. "Now try again."

Time passed by as Snow made several more attempts, all with similar results. He was started to get disheartened by the lack of progress. _Maybe I'm just not cut out for this stuff…_

Running out of new ways to approach the situation, Snow tried to go for a direct tackle, even though it directly contradicted Cliff's advice about focusing on maneuverability. _Hopefully Peacemaker won't see it coming._

Snow rushed headfirst into him, but Peacemaker simply caught him in his arm, entirely unperturbed by Snow's feeble charge. He wasn't even pushed back at all by the impact.

"Daww, if you wanted a hug Snow you could've just asked," Peacemaker said as he wrapped his arms further around the thwarted IceWing.

Snow sighed in defeat and decided to give in to the embrace.

"Stop hugging!" Cliff yelled with a hint of frustration. "This is a fight!"

"But hugging feels so much nicer than fighting," Snow said, and felt Peacemaker giggling against him.

Despite his irritation, Snow saw Cliff's expression thaw into amusement before long. "All right, you both look very adorable like that. But I can see that you're having trouble taking this seriously, Snow. Your heart isn't into it."

"I'm trying, I swear!" Snow said as he pulled out of the embrace. "It's just… Peacemaker is my friend, not someone who I would ever need to be worried about 'defeating in combat.'"

Cliff thought to himself briefly. "We're never going to tap into your primal dragon fighting instincts if you keep thinking of this as just a play-fight… You need to pretend that this is the real deal."

"…Pretend?" Snow echoed incredulously.

"Yes. Pretend like you're actually in a fight where your life is on the line, and Peacemaker is a scary dragon who's trying to kill you." Cliff turned to Peacemaker. "And you pretend like you're an evil villain who wants to murder Snow."

Peacemaker nodded firmly and looked back to Snow, lowering his body into a more aggressive stance. He put on a (not-so-scary) scowl in an attempt to help the illusion. "Grr," he said in a very adorable way, despite his best efforts to be frightening. "I'm evil! And I'm gonna kill you!"

Snow couldn't help but burst into laughter as he witnessed his friend's wholly unintimidating display, even as the dark dragon charged towards him and dove into a tackle, landing on top of Snow. Not long after, Peacemaker started laughing as well as they were tangled in each other's limbs.

Cliff let out a deep, soulful sigh. "Break it up boys, get back to your positions."

Peacemaker stood up and waddled back to his side of the plateau, still coming down from his fit of laughter. "This is pretty fun."

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves, even though we've made zero progress," Cliff said.

"Sorry…" said Snow.

"No, it's okay," Cliff replied with a wave of his talon. "If it's not working out, it's the coach's fault, not the pupil. I just need to come at this from a different angle." He looked down at the IceWing from his ledge with a scrutinizing glance, searching for an idea in his mind. "If fighting with your life on the line isn't going to drag out the dragon within, then pretend like… Green's life is in danger. And you have to beat Peacemaker, or else he'll get eaten."

All the mirth was rapidly drained out of Snow as he snapped to attention, feeling physically ill at the mention of Green being eaten. He hated even thinking about dragons eating scavengers, let alone Green. _Push it down Snow_, he told himself. _Don't think about it, don't imagine it, don't picture it._

"Mwahahaha," Peacemaker laughed with exaggeration, already in character. "I'm an evil villain and you must defeat me, or else your scavenger's life is forfeit! I've always wondered what scavenger tastes like!"

Snow winced. Even though Peacemaker was still using the same silly 'evil voice' as last time, it suddenly felt a lot more real. He was frozen in place. _It's not real Snow,_ he tried to convince himself. _Green isn't even here. He won't be eaten. I'll never let him be eaten._

"Come on and fight me!" Peacemaker said when he noticed Snow wasn't coming towards him. "…Well all right then. I suppose you don't care about your scavenger after all. Time to start gobbling him down."

Before Peacemaker could finish his sentence, Snow was already charging towards him. His mind was muddled with terrifying images of unspeakable things happening to Green, and his body moved on its own.

_I have to stop him_, Snow thought to himself, as something deep and primal within him pushed its way up to the surface, overtaking the fear in his heart.

"That's better!" said Peacemaker. "Best me in combat, or else!" He swiftly flew to the sky and avoided Snow's attack.

Snow turned around and bolted into the sky for a mid-air tackle, not missing a beat. Peacemaker caught the IceWing in his arms and effortlessly spun him around, launching him back to the ground.

"Hah! You're light as a feather. You'll never defeat me in a battle of strength!" he shouted as he descended back to the craggy floor.

"He's right!" Cliff called out from the ledge. "Remember what we talked about! Take advantage of your speed and agility!"

Snow barely managed to process Cliff's words. The blood was pumping thunderously in his head by this point, and his field of vision narrowed down so he could only see Peacemaker.

"Hmmm," Peacemaker said tauntingly. "Maybe I'll start by eating the legs and working my way up."

Snow pushed down the overwhelming sense of nausea and dashed towards Peacemaker with lightning speed.

"You never learn," Peacemaker said as he prepared himself to stop Snow's charge head-on.

But Snow swerved around at the last moment and instead circled around behind the dark dragon. Peacemaker was too slow to react as Snow jumped on his back, gripping him tightly.

"Oof," Peacemaker grunted as Snow grappled him. "Oh hey! You did it Snow!"

A low rumble was seeping out of Snow's throat, and everything else went quiet.

"Whoa, are you… growling?" Peacemaker asked, though Snow was hardly listening anymore.

_I have to keep him down_, he thought. _I can't let him hurt Green. No matter what._

Snow bared his teeth and bit down on Peacemaker's shoulder with all the power he had.

"YEOW," Peacemaker yelped loudly. "SNOW! What the heck are you doing?! Let go!"

Peacemaker thrashed around in an attempt to knock the IceWing off, but Snow kept his maw clamped tightly around his shoulder. _You'll never eat Green,_ Snow thought as he bit down even harder, feeling Peacemaker recoil below him.

Suddenly, Snow was forcibly removed from Peacemaker's back as Cliff flew into him from the side, tackling him off. With a loud _thump_, Snow landed with his back to the stone floor, and Cliff quickly descended on top of him, holding down Snow's arms with his talons.

"Hey, hey, it's all right now Snow," Cliff said with as soothing a voice as he could muster, looking down into the eyes of the pinned dragon beneath him. "Everything is all right."

Snow was panting heavily, his eyes unfocused as the taste of blood swirled in his mouth.

"It's okay, you're safe," Cliff continued. "There's no one trying to hurt Green. It's just me and Peacemaker here."

The haze over Snow's eyes slowly began to clear, and he finally saw Cliff's face full of concern over him. All the adrenaline in his body immediately deflated as he realized what he had just done.

"O-oh no…" he said quietly.

Cliff released his pin over Snow and helped the IceWing up to his feet. Snow looked over to Peacemaker, who was holding a talon to his bleeding shoulder.

"Geez, I didn't realize my acting was _that_ good," he said.

Snow shakily approached Peacemaker, mortified to see his own teeth marks imprinted in his friend.

"I'm so sorry!" Snow cried. "I-I don't know what came over me. I just got so scared, a-and angry just thinking about someone hurting Green, and how easy it would be... He's got no scales to protect his body, no claws to defend himself with, no wings to escape… And a lot of dragons probably think he's just food..." He felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. "But that's no excuse for hurting you. I'm so sorry Peacemaker."

"Whoa, h-hey. Don't cry Snow," said Peacemaker, looking flustered. "You didn't hurt me _that_ much. It was just a bite, I've been through worse. I should be the one saying sorry. I didn't realize how bothered you were by the stuff I was saying. I shouldn't have taken it that far."

"No, this is my fault," Cliff said, pointing his snout to the ground in shame. "I shouldn't have suggested that we bring Green into it. I knew it was a sensitive subject, but I wanted to drag out the dragon within. That was messed up of me."

"Well if we're all partially to blame," Peacemaker said, "then no one has to be sad, r-right Snow?"

Snow sniffled quietly, a little confused. "You're trying to cheer me up even though I was the one that just hurt you?"

"Yes. J-just, please don't cry. I never know what to do when my friends cry."

"Okay," Snow muttered, wiping the evidence from his eyes with the back of his talon. "…So you're not mad at me?"

"Of course not," he said. "I know you didn't mean to do it. And hey, that was a pretty slick move you pulled off at the end."

"Why don't we take Peacemaker for a quick stop by the infirmary, and then head back to the sleeping cave," Cliff suggested. "Then you can spend some time with Green."

"All right," Snow said, hanging his head down. "…Sorry for ruining your lessons, Cliff."

"Well, it was partially successful. You did end up getting on top of Peacemaker!"

Snow nodded his head silently, though he was still feeling terrible about the situation.

_I lost control_, he thought to himself, sneaking peeks at Peacemaker's shoulder as the three of them made their way to the healing cave. _It felt… awful_, Snow thought, thinking back to the deafening thrum in his ears, and the feverish heat in his scales, and the taste of dragon blood… He shivered.

_I really wish Green was with me_, he thought, only now recognizing how greatly he missed the company of his scavenger friend. Just knowing he was always there on his back whenever Snow needed him… provided more comfort than he realized.

After stopping by the infirmary briefly (and getting appropriately berated by Doctor Minnow for roughhousing), the three dragonets made their way back to their sleeping cave.

"Phew," Peacemaker said as he entered. "What a day. You know, despite how it ended, I still think it was pretty fun." He rubbed his shoulder gently.

"Don't touch your shoulder," Cliff commanded. "You'll wipe off the ointment, and then we'll have to go back to Doctor Minnow."

Peacemaker quivered, immediately retracting his talon. "I don't want to get scolded again."

While his friends chatted amongst themselves, Snow noticed something strange. The door to Green's scavenger room was open. _It was closed when I left…_

"Green?" Snow called out.

No response.

Snow's heart dropped as he ran up to the glass wall of the room, searching every corner of the little room for the scavenger, but he wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere.

Green was gone.


	24. Chapter 23

**~ CHAPTER 23 ~**

"Oh no," Snow said, desperately looking for the absent scavenger as panic set in. "No no no no no."

"Snow? What's wrong?" Cliff asked as he approached.

"He's gone. Green's gone. He's not in his room. He promised he'd stay in his room until I came back but he's not there," said Snow, breathing hard and heavy. "Someone took him. S-someone… took him."

A flood of emotions washed over Snow as he processed what he'd just said. All his fears were being manifested right before his very eyes. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind as he imagined different scenarios of why Green was missing, each grimmer than the last.

_Green could be dead. He could be dead because I brought him to this place. It's all my fault. How stupid do you have to be to bring a scavenger with you to a mountain full of dragons? He's gone forever because of me. Because I was too weak and afraid to come on my own. Because I needed someone to constantly comfort me. He's paid the ultimate price because of my cowardice. Because of me._

"Snow!" Cliff's voice called, snapping him out of his daze. "Take a deep breath."

Snow tried to follow his advice, but breathing suddenly seemed much more difficult than usual. He felt like he was choking on nothing, and the world was collapsing in on him. His body was trembling uncontrollably, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.

And then he felt Cliff take his shaky talon into his own, giving it a firm squeeze. The crushing pounding in Snow's heart softened a little bit.

"I'm right here with you Snow," Cliff whispered. "We'll find Green."

Snow nodded sluggishly, still feeling dizzy and faint. He finally noticed the warm tears were streaming down from his own eyes. They traveled across the side of his snout and onto the floor with a hollow _drip_.

"Peacemaker," Cliff called out. "Go tell the teachers that Green is missing and start a search party."

"Roger that," Peacemaker said with an uncharacteristically serious expression, before bolting out of the cave.

Snow felt a brief sense of relief that he had such reliable friends, before the dread and terror swallowed him up again.

He instinctively squeezed Cliff's talon back. It felt like if he let go, he'd be swept away to a dark place that he might not ever get back from.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Cliff said, seemingly reading his mind.

"Cliff… I think he's g-gone for good," Snow choked out in between sobs. "I-It's all my fault."

"We don't know that for sure," Cliff said gently. He placed his other talon on top of Snow's, sandwiching the IceWing's talon between his own. "We're going to find him, Snow."

Cliff's golden eyes showed nothing but sincerity, and Snow could feel the warmth of his talons pass over to him, like an unyielding fire in the middle of a snowstorm. The warmth soothed Snow's heart, and he felt himself finally stop trembling.

"There we go," Cliff said quietly, with a smile so reassuring that Snow never wanted to look away. "You all right now?"

"Y-yeah," Snow responded, standing up and wiping the tears from his face. "This isn't the time to break down. We have to find Green."

"Atta boy," said Cliff. "Peacemaker's already out looking, so let's try to figure out what happened in here."

Snow nodded as firmly as he could, though his brain felt a little bit like jelly.

Cliff examined the cave, analyzing the scavenger room in particular. "Hmm, the door is wide open, but everything else seems to be in order. No sign of any struggle."

Still having trouble thinking straight, Snow tried to follow along with Cliff's thought process. "Y-you think he left on purpose?"

"I don't know exactly what happened, but there's no way a dragon could fit through that tiny door anyway," Cliff pointed out. "He would've _had_ to leave by his own choice."

"But… he promised he wouldn't," Snow mumbled. "I know he can be a little rebellious at times, but he would never do something like this."

"GUYS!" Peacemaker's voice rang in the distance, as the pitter-patter of his footfalls got louder and louder until he reached their sleeping cave.

"Peacemaker?" Cliff said with a confused look at the winded dragon standing at their entrance. "Did you tell the teachers yet?"

"No," he said, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Before I had the chance to, I found my friend Pride, and she was looking for us."

_Pride… that's one of Peacemaker's RainWing friends_, Snow recalled. _One of the ones that got grabby with Green on one of the first days of school._

"Why was she looking for us?" asked Cliff.

"She says she knows where Green is. He's in her sleeping cave."

Snow's mind reeled as a thousand new thoughts bombarded his mind. But one thought prevailed above all the others. _Green's alive_. He almost couldn't believe it. _He's alive!_

"Why is he in her sleeping cave?" Cliff asked.

"I'm not sure," Peacemaker answered. "I kinda just bolted here after Pride told me. All she said was that when she got back to her sleeping cave, she found her clawmate Frost and two scavengers. One of which was definitely Green."

"Two scavengers?" Snow echoed.

"Yeah. Apparently Frost managed to get her talons on one, and then dragged it back to her cave. And now Green is there for some reason."

Snow's mind was spinning with all this flabbergasting information, but the details weren't important right now. "I have to go and see Green."

"Follow me!" Peacemaker said, before running off into the tunnels. Cliff and Snow followed behind closely.

For once, Snow didn't care what the other dragons in the tunnel were thinking about him as they dashed around. It was oddly liberating.

Shortly after, they arrived near a cluster of sleeping caves, breathless and panting.

"It's that one," Peacemaker said between huffs, pointing at one of the caves.

Snow almost raced for the entrance, before Cliff stopped him with a talon.

"Wait!" he said. "We shouldn't go in right away. Do you hear that?"

Snow strained his ears. The distant squeaks of scavengers speaking leaked from the cave. _They're really in there_, Snow thought.

"Let's listen in before we enter," Cliff suggested. "Maybe you can get a better understanding of the situation."

The three of them pressed themselves up against the wall right beside the entrance of the cave. Snow listened closely in.

"I told you already! I wasn't being held captive!" Green's voice rang out. "Look at the mess you've gotten me into."

Finally hearing Green's voice, Snow's legs almost gave out as an immense wave of relief rushed over him. It took all the willpower he had not to burst into the cave right then and sweep Green into his arms.

"The mess _I've_ gotten you into?" replied an unfamiliar feminine voice, though it was distinctly scavenger sounding. "I could've escaped fine on my own, but I went through the trouble of saving you and this is the thanks I get? We wouldn't even have been caught by this white dragon if you hadn't resisted so much!"

"I wouldn't have been caught at all if you hadn't barged into my room and dragged me out!" Green yelled.

_So that's what happened_, Snow thought. _Cliff was right; a dragon can't fit through Green's door, but a scavenger easily could._

"Don't yell!" the female whispered loudly. "We don't want to attract the white dragon's attention. Let's just lay low until she falls asleep, then we can sneak out."

"I can't wait that long batbrain! I promised… someone that I would be waiting for him in the enclosure."

"There's someone else?"

"Well, sort of. Probably not in the way you're thinking," Green said. "But he's like a… little brother to me, and he's _not_ great at dealing with stressful situations. He's probably losing it right now."

Despite the state of mind Snow was in, he found himself chuckling quietly. _I'm the 'little' brother?_ Still, it filled Snow with a warm and bubbly feeling to hear that.

"We can rescue your friend on the way out too, but we can't risk angering this white dragon," the other scavenger said. "I've heard rumors that they can expel ice from their breath. We'll never make it past the entrance if we make a run for it now. Save your energy for when we have to hike down the mountain."

Green groaned in frustration.

Snow couldn't wait any longer. He'd heard enough.

He rushed into the entrance and finally saw Green, standing beside another scavenger, and an IceWing in the corner watching them intently. But nothing else mattered. Not even the fact that there was an IceWing in the room could stop Snow from galloping towards Green.

"Green!" he cried.

"Snow?!" Green responded.

Snow took the scavenger in his talons and held him tight to his chest. Tears started spilling out of his eyes, but they were different from earlier. He felt the fear and despair fade away with each tear expelled from him.

"Snow! I'm so sorry! I swear I tried to stay inside the room but Robin practically lugged me out," Green hastily explained.

"Your friend is… the dragon holding you captive?" the other scavenger said with disbelief, as she stood as far back as she could. "...Is he crying?"

Green shot her a harsh look. "No thanks to your little 'rescue mission,'" he said while stroking Snow's snout.

"I… was so scared you'd be gone…" Snow managed to sputter out in a whispered voice.

"How'd you train your scavenger not to run from you when you approached?" the IceWing said, suddenly making her presence known. She appeared to have pale white scales, similar to Snow, but somehow glossier. "My scavenger won't get within arm's length of me… did you cover yourself with honey or something?"

"Your scavenger?" Cliff repeated, and Snow was reminded his friends were right behind him.

"Oh wow, it's a pleasure to have you in my humble cave Prince Cliff." She didn't seem all that bothered by the fact that they just barged in without invitation, Snow noticed. "But yes, I got a scavenger. No big deal," she said in a way that indicated she thought it was a pretty big deal. "I'm Frost by the way, and this is Feisty." She motioned towards the female scavenger.

"You have a scavenger too? Wow, that's awesome." Peacemaker circled around to inspect the scavenger more closely, which caused her to practically glue herself to the wall.

"Well I heard there was an IceWing with a scavenger in the academy, which I can only assume is this blubbering dragon," Frost said, lazily pointing to Snow. "So I decided that I had to get one of my own. As luck would have it, this morning when I was out for some early flying I spotted little Feisty picking some berries off of a bush. I managed to snag her, but it wasn't easy. She would _not_ stop struggling all the way until I made it into the mountain, which is why I decided to call her Feisty. Pretty cool name huh?"

She looked far too impressed with herself; even the scavenger was rolling her eyes.

Snow looked to Cliff and Peacemaker, clearing the sniffles out of his throat. "Hey guys, can you… entertain Frost for a minute?" He hoped they'd be able to tell he wanted a chance to speak with Green and the new scavenger without Frost noticing.

"Sure," Cliff said with a knowing look, before turning to Frost. "I've got a couple questions anyway. How did you manage to capture a slippery scavenger so easily? You must tell me _every_ detail."

Snow gave Cliff a silent thank you as Frost launched into a dramatic retelling of how it all happened. He took the opportunity to pull Green aside, and Green gestured to the female scavenger to come over to the corner with them. She seemed… extremely hesitant to get close to Snow.

"Robin, this is Snow. Snow, this is Robin. She got captured this morning and attempted to escape, before she had the bright idea of 'breaking me out' to go with her."

Now that Snow had a better view of her, he noticed Robin had long auburn fur on her head (_or hair_, he remembered Green calling it) and fair skin, along with similar fur coverings across her body that Green wore. She also appeared to be older than Green by a fair bit… or maybe just taller. It was hard to tell. At the very least, she looked as if she carried herself with that same conviction that Snow saw adults carry themselves. He wished he had the chance to ask this new scavenger a bunch of questions, but he knew that it was incredibly unsafe to keep her here any longer than she needed to be.

"Why are you talking to the dragon, have you lost your mind?" Robin asked Green with genuine concern in her voice.

"He hasn't lost his mind. I can understand you both." Snow tried to give his least threatening smile (_don't show any teeth_, he reminded himself). "It's nice to meet you Robin."

Her jaw dropped so intensely that Snow was worried it would break. She looked to Green with her eyes wide open. He responded with a smug grin.

"Wha– how?" she stammered, looking more dazed than Snow had ever seen a creature look, scavenger or otherwise.

"I don't really know how either. Has something to do with a comet," Snow said briskly. "There's no time for that though. I'm here to help. Do you want to escape?"

"Y-yes," Robin stuttered back, still bewildered. "But I can't let you keep the boy as a pet. He's coming with me."

"Oh come on you dunce," Green said, looking increasingly agitated. "Do you really think I'd be resisting this much if I wasn't happy with Snow? We'll help you get out but you have to promise to leave me be."

"But… don't you want to go back to the settlement?"

"Settlement? Wait, there's a scavenger den nearby?" Green asked.

"Wha– of course there is. Isn't that where you're from?" Robin gave him an expression of puzzlement that rivaled his own. "And why are you calling it a scavenger den? It's a human settlement."

_Human… that's what Green told me scavengers call themselves,_ Snow recalled. _But Green said he thinks the word 'scavenger' sounds way cooler._

"Er, right. Human settlement. Sorry, I've been living with dragons for a while. I'm sure you understand."

"Not in the slightest," she said.

"I had no idea there was a den– er, settlement anywhere near this place. I definitely didn't come from there, but I _am _very curious about where it is."

"It's–" Robin paused and glanced sideways at Snow. "…Never mind. All right, just get me out of here and you can go back to your cage."

_There's something she doesn't want me to know_, Snow realized. It was only fair; anyone would have trouble trusting a dragon after a lifetime of being terrorized by them.

Green seemed more bothered by her reluctance to share whatever she's hiding, but he knew time was of the essence. "Get in the bag on the Snow's back. It might be a tight fit since you're taller than me, but it should do the trick. He'll walk you out and take you to the base of the mountain."

Robin was more than a little hesitant, but eventually she hopped into the bag. Snow slung it over his shoulder with some difficulty. _She's heavier than Green too._

He looked back to Frost, who was still very absorbed in her theatrical tale. Cliff's feigned interest was impressively convincing, while Peacemaker looked genuinely captivated.

_She seems like the kind of dragon that loves to hear her own voice,_ Snow observed. _I thought all IceWings would be like Shiver, but I guess they've got a lot of diversity too…_

Snow carefully shuffled over, inconspicuously inserting himself into the group. Green stood beside him as they waited for Frost to finish.

"…And that's how I snuck her in without anyone noticing. Of course, as soon as I went out of the cave to get her some fruit, she tried to escape. Luckily I found her squabbling with this other scavenger a few caves down. I suppose that was your sleeping cave then. Guess she just wanted to explore."

"Mmmm, fascinating," Cliff commented.

"Yeah that's really interesting," Snow added.

"Hey wait a minute! Where did she go?" Frost jumped up as she finally noticed.

Snow tried his best to pretend to look around convincingly with the rest for Robin, while simultaneously keeping her balanced in the bag.

"She must've escaped while you were distracted, let's go look for her!" Cliff suggested with a dramatic flare of his wings.

Frost rushed out of the cave with conviction.

Peacemaker was about to rush off after her before Cliff stopped him with his tail. "We're not actually going to help her retrieve the scavenger she kidnapped. I was just getting her out of the cave."

"Oh," Peacemaker said. "Right. Obviously."

"Thanks for keeping her busy," Snow said to his friends. "I'm going to help the other scavenger escape. She's in my bag right now, and I'm taking her down the mountain."

"You're not allowed to leave the mountain alone," Cliff reminded. "Remember the missing dragons? They disappeared at the base of the mountain. Tsunami very explicitly banned leaving the mountain by yourself."

"It'll just be for a second," Snow insisted. "Do you know how long and dangerous descending a mountain is for a scavenger?"

Cliff looked hesitant, but gave in when he saw the steadfast expression on Snow's face. "…All right, fine. But I'm coming with you," he said. "And make it quick!"

Snow nodded, and then turned his attention to Green. "…I can't fit you and Robin both in the bag, so you'll have to stay with Peacemaker."

"I'll be fine Snow," Green said. "There's no time for your indecisiveness. Go before you start thinking!"

As Green tried to shoo him away, Snow couldn't help but smile at the scavenger. "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Don't get all mushy on me," Green said. "…But I'm sorry for making you worry. I promise I'll be safe until you're back. For real this time."

"I'll see you soon… big brother," Snow said, nuzzling Green's head affectionately.

"Gah! You heard all that?" Green said, visibly flustered as he tried to push Snow's snout away. "Oh man, that is so embarrassing."

"Whoa, I've never seen a scavenger's face turn red," Peacemaker said.

"Just go already!" Green yelled at Snow, who finally let up with a chuckle.

"I'm counting on you Peacemaker," Snow said, lifting Green onto the dark dragon's back, who looked extra pleased to be carrying him.

"You got it pal!" Peacemaker responded. "This is perfect, I've been working on some new jokes. What do you get when you…" He drifted off as he turned his attention to the scavenger, chatting away as if he were just another friend.

"This…" Robin said from within the bag, "is something else." Although he couldn't see her, her voice conveyed all the astonishment in her expression.

"Dragons and scavengers… living together in harmony like this," Snow said. "It's what I want more than anything else."

Robin remained silent.

"Come on Snow," Cliff called from the entrance. "There's no time to waste."

"Right," replied Snow as he sped out of the cave and towards the closest exit of the academy, which was fortunately rather close.

He flew down to the base of Jade Mountain with Cliff in tow, landing on the grassy surface. He gently pulled Robin out of the bag, placing her lightly on the ground beside a blueberry bush.

Cliff stood behind him, looking around vigilantly like a watchdog, swerving his head around in every which way for any indication of danger. "All clear for now. Wrap it up quick, Snow."

"Is this a good spot?" Snow asked Robin.

The scavenger seemed even more stunned than before. "Y-yes. Wow, I just flew on the back of a dragon…"

"I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable," Snow said apologetically. "I would've made it a smoother ride for you but I had to get down here quickly."

"No, it was fine," Robin said. "The stranger thing is that a dragon is being so polite and accommodating. I'm so used to running at the sight of one of you… this is really messing with my internal instincts."

"Well, hold on to those instincts and try not to get caught again okay? Frost meant well… probably… but you could've easily been caught by someone who would've hurt you. Or worse. Most dragons don't realize that scavengers have families and lives of their own."

"You realize it though," she said. "And you really care about that kid too. I've never seen a dragon cry before."

Snow shuffled his talons in embarrassment. "Sorry you had to see that…"

"To be honest, I don't think I would've been able to leave Green with you if I hadn't." She sighed. "If only all dragons were like you…"

_The world would be a mess if all dragons were like me_, Snow thought.

"Well I better get out of here before anyone else spots me. And sees me talking to a dragon. Like a lunatic," Robin said. "There is no way anyone is gonna believe this," she muttered to herself, as she began making her way into the forest.

"Bye Robin, hope to see you again someday!" Snow called after her.

She gave him a confused wave of her hand, before disappearing into the thickets.

_I really do hope I see her again. In a future where she doesn't have to be afraid of dragons. A future where no scavenger has to be afraid of dragons. Where I don't have to fear for Green's life whenever he's out of my sight._

Snow let out a wistful sigh. _It might be a long way away, but that's a future worth fighting for._


	25. Chapter 24

**~ CHAPTER 24 ~**

_Life has changed so much_, Snow thought to himself, absentmindedly pressing his pestle into the mortar filled with various herbs. _After less than three weeks at Jade Mountain Academy, more stuff has happened than in basically the entire first four and a half years of my life._

_I wonder what life has in store for me next_, Snow thought, surprised to find himself excited by the prospect.

"I must say, you are quite good at this Snowball," Tide's voice said, bringing him back to reality.

Snow was sitting beside some of the members of the Diamond Winglet, around a small table filled with herbs and equipment – as was appropriate for a class called Herbs and Healing. It was one of the more aesthetically pleasing caves, with flowers hanging off the wall like banners, and various potted plants near the windows.

Peregrine – their SkyWing teacher for this class – had split the winglet up into three groups. As such, Snow found himself in the company of Tide and Amber, the resident SeaWing and MudWing of the winglet.

"I'm having some trouble utilizing the equipment as effectively as you appear to be," Tide continued.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's pretty easy," Snow said, shaking out of his stupor. "You just need to find a rhythm. Let me show you."

Snow reached over and positioned her webbed talons into the right place, demonstrating the proper motion for optimal pressing.

"Thank you Snowball. I am quite lucky to have been put in the same group as you in this class. You seem to have a knack for it."

It was true. Herbs and Healing was definitely Snow's best subject, though that might be because he put the most effort into it. _I have to make sure I know this stuff in case any of my friends get hurt… again_. His mind briefly flashed to Cliff's bleeding gashes, and then to Peacemaker's wound, and he shook the unpleasant images out of his head.

"Yeah, I'm pretty lucky too," Amber said, leaning her flat MudWing snout on one of her talons. She was sitting around the same small table as Snow and Tide, idly rolling around some of the equipment with her claws. "I got put into the group with the two keenest dragons in the winglet. I don't even gotta do anything."

"Amber," Tide said sternly with a frown.

Amber sighed. "Fiiine." She grabbed her own mortar and pestle and began pressing. "But don't expect any good results."

"That's okay," Snow assured with a smile. "As long as you try your best."

"Geez, you're so… mushy," Amber said.

"Better than the alternative," said Tide, looking over to Barb with a not-so-subtle glare. The large SandWing was sitting on a different table a short ways away, going through similar motions with her own mortar and pestle. Cliff was sitting across from her, grouchily working with his involuntary teammate. "I'm glad to have her out of my scales for a change. She can be a real pain in the rear, if you'll excuse my vulgar language."

"…That counts as vulgar language for you?" Amber muttered.

"Hey now, Barb's not that bad you know," Snow defended, thinking back to his experience with her in the forest. But his offhand comment had earned a very surprised look out of his two teammates.

"…Did she threaten you to make you say that?" Tide asked seriously.

Amber shook her head. "No no, I think she's blackmailing him. Maybe mind control."

"She didn't do any of that stuff," Snow said. "I'm not saying she's perfect or anything, but she's not a terrible dragon."

A clattering noise interrupted their conversation, as the three dragonets turned around to see that Barb had 'accidentally' tipped over Cliff's mortar, scattering its contents across the table.

"Whoops," Barb said, looking entirely unapologetic.

Cliff growled and begrudgingly picked up his mortar.

"Are you sure she's not that bad?" Tide asked, turning back to Snow.

"…She's nicer on the inside." _Poor Cliff,_ Snow thought. _He just had to be the one that got paired up with Barb…_

"You're mad to think that there's any good inside of her," Tide said. "I've been her clawmate for almost three weeks, and she's not shown even a shred of friendliness."

"Well she's shown some friendliness to me!" Snow said, a little bothered by Tide's claim. "I don't think it's fair to assume she's all bad just because _you_ haven't found any kindness in her. Have you even been looking?"

"…Well I suppose I haven't exactly been making any… significant effort."

"Then you should try to actually make friends with her," Snow said. "She might surprise you."

Tide sighed. "I suppose you're right. I'll have to give it another try." She had a grimace on her face at the thought of it. "You're lucky you got two very pleasant dragons as your clawmates. Just my luck to be saddled with the grouchiest dragon in our winglet. Even Amber has a satisfactory clawmate."

"Yeah, Pear is pretty great, but…" Amber drifted off as she looked over towards her RainWing clawmate across the class.

Pear was sitting on another table with a cheery Peacemaker. He was happily blabbing on about whatever exciting new thing he had to tell her, make exaggerated motions with his arms, and seemingly forgetting about the entire class task he was supposed to be doing. Pear listened idly. She was wearing her usual green-colored scales, with streaks of purple running through.

"But what?" Snow asked Amber.

"She's been acting _real _strange lately," the MudWing said. "Like, more strange than before. Nervous."

Snow looked back to the RainWing. Amber was right; Pear was fidgeting with her claws restlessly, and her scales looked a bit pale. Snow knew all too well the telltale signs of nervousness.

"Well…" Snow began, lowering his voice to a whisper. "If you ask me, I think she has a crush on Peacemaker."

"Duh," said Amber, rolling her eyes. "Literally everyone can see that. Pretty sure Peacemaker is the only one oblivious enough not to notice it."

"Oh," Snow said, feeling a little deflated.

"But a crush isn't supposed to make you _that_ nervous. She looks outright anxious around him. And it's only been getting worse as the weeks go by…"

"Wow," Tide said. "I didn't think you had it in you to be worried about someone else, Amber. I had the impression that you despised putting effort into anything."

"I had the impression that you were a huge snob," Amber shot back. "Oh, look. I was right."

The two dragonets continued their quarrel, but Snow tuned them out. He focused on Pear, and the oblivious Peacemaker sitting beside her.

_Is there something I can do to help her?_ Snow wondered. _Being anxious all the time is… stressful. Maybe I'll talk to her after class._

Eventually, the Herbs and Healing class came to an end, and the dragonets all funneled out of the cave entrance.

Snow trotted quickly to catch up to Cliff. He looked… grumpy.

"Everything all right?" Snow asked.

"Huh?" He turned around to see Snow walking alongside him. "Oh, hey Snow. I'm fine. Just irritated about having to sit with Barb for a whole class," he grumbled. "You look like you got something on your mind though."

"I do." Snow looked down towards the ground pensively as they walked. "Have you noticed that Pear acts strange around Peacemaker?"

"Well yeah. She does have a huge crush on him, after all," Cliff said.

_I guess everyone really did already know_, Snow thought to himself, feeling a little thwarted about his discovery being common knowledge.

"Don't you think she's acting a little too nervous about it though?" Snow asked.

"Well don't _you_ think it's a little rude to talk about someone when they're not around?" said a source-less female voice. Snow froze in place, while Cliff looked around with confusion. They were definitely the only two dragons within talking range.

Suddenly, the slender form of Pear appeared right in front of them, as she disabled her camouflaged scales to become visible to the two dragonets. Her brow was furrowed.

"Hello Pear," Cliff said with an amicable smile.

"…How much of that did you hear?" Snow asked.

"Enough to know you were gossiping about me!" she said. "Not cool guys."

"It's not as bad as eavesdropping," Cliff said.

She looked to him with squinted eyes. "…Touché."

"We weren't gossiping, I swear!" Snow said frantically. "I was just worried about you."

"Oh," Pear said, cocking her head curiously. "But you barely know me."

"I don't see why that matters," Snow said.

"Huh. Well I'm sorry for getting mad at you," Pear said. "The truth is, I'm kind of on edge lately, as you've apparently noticed. And I actually came here to ask you two for your help."

"Us?" Cliff said, sharing a look with Snow.

"What do you want us to help you with?" asked Snow.

The color on her scales wavered as she looked between the two dragonets with a mixture of worry, dread, and embarrassment. "I… I need you to help make Peacemaker fall in love with me."

* * *

Snow and Cliff found themselves in Pear's sleeping cave, after she insisted that they move somewhere more private so that no one could accidentally listen in. She looked so nervous that they had no choice but to oblige.

The room was a little smaller than Snow's sleeping cave, but only had two sleeping spots instead of three; Pear's hammock, and a large woven mat where Amber presumably slept. Fortunately, the MudWing was out for the time being.

Pear paced around in front of the two confused dragonets, seemingly unable to keep herself still. The green on her scales was steadily overtaking the purple.

"So you need our help to make Peacemaker _love_ you?" Cliff asked. "Love is a strong word… It's just a crush, right?"

"It's not just a crush!" Pear said with a stomp of her talon. "You think I'd be going this crazy over a crush?"

Snow and Cliff shared a concerned glance. "So… do you love him then?" Snow asked cautiously.

"No! I-I mean… I _like_ him. I think? I used to anyway… A-and I still do!" Pear said frantically. "Three moons this is all so confusing. I really do sound like I'm crazy."

"Is there something you're not telling us, Pear?" Cliff asked.

The RainWing sighed, and settled down in front of the other two dragons. "Yes. I guess I should tell you the whole story before you start thinking I'm mad."

Snow gave her a serious nod, and Cliff did the same (though Snow noticed his tail twitching with excitement at the prospect of learning a secret).

"On the first day I got here at Jade Mountain Academy," Pear began, "I met Moonwatcher. She looked super excited to meet me, which was pretty confusing since I'd never even talked to her before. In her excitement, she accidentally let it slip that she had a vision of the future once – about me and Peacemaker."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Cliff said. "Moon can see the future?"

Snow had heard NightWings used to be able to read minds and tell prophecies, but then it turned out that was all a ruse to manipulate the other tribes. _And now it's true?_ Snow thought nervously, thinking back to all his interactions with NightWings.

"Yes, I know. Very surprising. Life-changing revelation," Pear said, waving her talon flippantly. "It's only her though. No other NightWing has any powers."

"Wow…" Cliff said. "That's amazing… Did you know Peril was in her winglet? I can't believe she never told me."

"…Are we allowed to know?" Snow asked Pear.

"No. She told me not to tell anyone under any circumstances."

The two dragons stared at her in disbelief.

"What? Don't look at me like that," Pear said. "It's not like I'm going around blabbing to everyone about it. You two are the first dragons I've told, and it's only because I'm desperate for your help!"

"Pear…" Snow began with a gentle voice. "You shouldn't be sharing another dragon's deep secrets if they're not okay with it."

"I…" She looked down at her talons, her scales flaring with a deep violet. "You're right. That was pretty rotten of me."

"Well, what's done is done," said Cliff. "But try not to tell anyone else."

"I won't. But you kinda needed to know that she has visions for the next part to make sense," Pear explained. "She told me saw a prophecy of me and Peacemaker happily married in the future with two funny little dragonets. So of course, I freaked out a little. Then Moon tried to calm me down by telling me that visions don't _always_ come true, especially when their participants know about them which just made me freak out even more because now I'm terrified that I'm gonna screw it up and I'm really blowing it so far because every time I'm around him I'm super nervous because I'm so worried that I'm gonna ruin EVERYTHING–"

"Pear!" Cliff said, cutting off her rambling. "Take a deep breath."

The RainWing was breathing quick and fast, and had to make a few attempts before she could successfully take a deep breath. Snow felt a flood of sympathy as he watched Pear trying to control her breathing, before she promptly changed her scale colors to fade into the background.

"Pear?" Snow called out. "You still here?"

"…Yes," her bodiless voice responded.

"That's… a lot to take in," said Cliff, who had that look he always had when there was a particularly difficult equation in math class.

"Yeah," Pear responded, slowly reappearing as color filled her scales. "Sorry for dropping it all on you like that."

"No, I mean that's a lot for _you_ to take in," Cliff clarified. "What was Moon thinking by telling you all that."

"Well, to be fair, she was very apologetic about it afterward," Pear said. "But now you see why I need your help. As Peacemaker's clawmates and closest friends, you have to help make Peacemaker fall in love with me. Our unborn dragonets are at stake! If I screw this up, they'll never even get to exist." She paused for a moment. "Three moons, I can't believe I already have to be so concerned about my dragonets at the ripe age of four years old," she muttered.

"What did Moonwatcher say exactly?" Snow asked.

"She said that I looked familiar," Pear recalled. "And then she asked me if I was the daughter of the tribe's blacksmith, to which I told her I am. That's when she got all giddy and revealed that I was destined to marry Peacemaker."

"RainWings have blacksmiths?" Cliff asked curiously.

"Yes we have blacksmiths!" she scowled. "How backward do you think RainWings are?"

"Sorry," said Cliff, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I figured that since they don't have weapons, they probably don't have blacksmiths…"

Pear exhaled deeply, closing her eyes and letting the little orange streaks that had appeared recede. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just on edge, like, all the time now. You're right that we don't make many weapons, but we still make tools and gates and all that kind of stuff."

"I thought RainWings didn't even know their parents," Snow said, remembering a scroll he'd read a long time ago.

"That's how it used to be. But ever since Queen Glory became queen, she's given dragons the option of knowing who their dragonets are and raising them in a more traditional way," Pear explained. "I was born right around then, and my dad thought it would be fun to try it out."

"I heard about that too," Cliff confirmed.

"The point is," continued Pear, "I'm destined to be with Peacemaker. And _of course_ I ended up in the same winglet as him. Which is great because I get to see Peacemaker every day, but also terrible because I get so many more chances to screw it up."

_She had all this on her mind for the past two weeks?_ Snow mused. _That must've been rough… But there's one thing that still concerns me._

"Do you actually like him though?" Snow asked. "Or are you just doing this because you feel like you have to?"

Snow watched as Pear's face slowly began to blush a bright pink, which then spread across her entire body, coloring all of her scales.

"I think that's RainWing for yes," Cliff whispered to Snow.

Pear let out a wistful sigh. "I really do like him. I liked him way before Moon told me about our future. I like how bubbly and cheerful he is, and how he makes me feel that way when I'm around him. I like how he's clumsy and a little dim, but he never lets that get him down. I like his beautiful scales, especially the colored stars under his wings surrounded by the pitch black darkness."

Her pink scales only grew brighter as she went on, but then green scales started to creep onto her as she buried her head in her talons. "It seemed like such an insignificant crush back then, but now there's so much pressure. Our whole future is in my talons. Depending on what I do, it could change the trajectory of our destiny and–"

"We'll help," Cliff said suddenly.

"Wha– you will?" Pear asked.

"Of course! Anything for true love, right Snow?"

"Right," Snow smiled at Pear. _She seems very genuine_, Snow thought. "We'll try our best."

Her face lit up at their words (and so did her scales). "Thank you! I don't know what I would've done if you had said no."

"Well I'd never turn away a dragon in distress," Cliff said with a heroic look. "I think it's pretty obvious what we have to do."

"It is?" asked Snow.

"Yeah," Cliff said, looking oddly excited. "We have to set them up on a date!"


	26. Chapter 25

**~ CHAPTER 25 ~**

Snow's mind wandered back to the series of events that had led him to this situation. Pear had caught him and Cliff after class, brought them back to her sleeping cave, divulged that she was in a prophecy where she married Peacemaker, and desperately needed their help to make sure it comes true. And then Cliff revealed his surefire strategy.

"A date!?" Pear echoed with alarm. "Isn't that a bit too forward?"

"Well it doesn't have to be a _formal_ date," Cliff explained. "Just tell Peacemaker you want to hang out alone, and then take him on the perfect date. He's bound to fall for you."

Snow wasn't entirely sure if Cliff's plan would work, but Cliff seemed very confident (and strangely thrilled) about the idea.

"A-are you sure?" Pear asked, her snout a blushing mess as her scales changed to match.

"Positive," Cliff said with a wide smile. "We'll help you plan the date of course, and we'll be watching from a distance to make sure everything is going well."

"All right," Pear said, regaining her composure. "I'll do whatever you guys say. Just… try not to make it too embarrassing."

"No promises!" said Cliff, earning a sigh out of Pear. "Now… let's get to planning."

* * *

_This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder_, Snow thought as he found himself hiding behind a large stalagmite with Cliff and Pear. A short distance ahead of the three sneaky dragonets was the subject of their espionage; Peacemaker – happily walking throughout the tunnels of Jade Mountain, humming to himself.

"Okay Pear, it's go time," Cliff whispered. "Just stick to the plan and everything will work out."

The RainWing nodded with an expression of both determination and bottomless anxiety.

"Don't worry Pear," Snow added. "Peacemaker is a sweet dragon. Your feelings will definitely get through to him."

"And we'll be supporting you from the shadows every step of the way," said Cliff. "So you'll be able to carry out the plan without interruption. Now get out there and have a good time!" He gave her a playful shove towards the dark dragon in the distance.

_I hope this works out_, Snow prayed silently, feeling a bit of secondhand nervousness from watching Pear stiffly make her way towards Peacemaker. The date they'd planned seemed effective enough, not that Snow knew a lot about dates. Cliff had provided the majority of input, and seemed weirdly excited throughout the whole planning process.

"Is it okay for us to be spying on them like this?" Snow whispered to Cliff. "I mean Pear knows, but Peacemaker doesn't…"

"It's totally fine," Cliff said with a distracted wave of his talon, his eyes glued to Pear as she inched closer to Peacemaker. "They do this stuff all the time in all the romance stories I read."

Snow looked at Cliff with surprise. "You… read a lot of romantic stories?"

Cliff's expression froze with his jaw half-open, as if he only now realized what he'd revealed. "I… I meant, uh…" he stammered. He looked completely flustered.

"Wow," Snow said, smiling at the SkyWing. "I don't think I've ever seen you embarrassed before. I wasn't sure if that was even possible. This is amazing."

"All right, fine! I like to read romance stories!" Cliff whispered loudly, his face a shade redder than his usual scale color. Snow had to hush him down before anybody noticed them.

"It's my guilty pleasure, okay?" Cliff continued. "Don't tell anyone please. I have a reputation to uphold."

"All right all right," Snow said with his talons raised up. "I won't tell anyone. Not that it's anything to be ashamed of anyway." He thought to himself for a moment. "…Is this why you've been so enthusiastic about the whole date thing?"

"Shhh! They're starting to talk. We have to listen," Cliff said, blatantly trying to shake off the conversation.

Pear had finally crept her way up to Peacemaker, impressively holding her regular scale colors together despite how tense she appeared.

"H-hey Peacemaker," she said.

Peacemaker turned towards her, and a bright smile immediately filled his snout. "Pear! There you are. I was looking for you."

"Wha– you were?"

"Yeah!" Peacemaker said. "And then you found me! Must be fate."

Pear winced briefly at the mention of 'fate,' but quickly recovered. "W-well, I was looking for you cause I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out… with me," she said, getting progressively quieter throughout the sentence.

Peacemaker's face lit up in the widest smile Snow had seen from him. "Really?! Of course I want to!" he said, bobbing up and down. "I was really worried that you didn't like me anymore since you've been feeling nervous around me lately."

_He's more observant than we realized,_ Snow thought. _Maybe he's not as oblivious as he seems._

"N-no! Of course I still like you," Pear said frantically. "It's just that the, um, all the… school stuff! Yeah, the s-school stuff has been stressing me out lately. That's why I've been acting weird," she lied, in the least convincing way possible.

Peacemaker gave a sagely nod of understanding. "That makes sense."

_...Or maybe he's even _more_ oblivious than he seems_, Snow thought.

"I hope I didn't worry you too much," said Pear. "…Here, maybe this'll make up for it."

Pear brought her slender tail up towards her back and used it to lift the small basket that had been sitting between her wings. She guided it down to her talons, and opened it up, revealing a small strawberry shortcake.

Giving Peacemaker a piece of confectionary at the beginning of the date was something they'd come up with during the planning phase, as per the suggestion of – surprisingly – Green ("What? I know a thing or two about romance. I'm sure it applies to dragons too," the scavenger had said when Snow gave him an astonished look).

"Whoa, is this for me?" Peacemaker asked, his eyes hungrily fixated on the small cake.

"Yep. Enjoy!" she said, holding it out.

Peacemaker took it out of her talons and opened his maw, before quickly depositing the strawberry shortcake into his mouth and snapping it shut. He had eaten it so fast that Snow wasn't even sure he chewed it at all before swallowing.

"Mmm, that was yummy," said Peacemaker, before looking at Pear's flabbergasted expression. "Oh – sorry, did you want some of it?"

Pear giggled and said, "No no, it was all for you. Glad to see you liked it though! I was worried I added too much sugar."

"Wait, you made it? That's amazing."

Pear looked away sheepishly, barely keeping control over her scale colors. "Th-thank you. They've recently started letting students into the kitchen. …We can go check it out if you want…"

"Yeah! Let's go right now," Peacemaker said, with that glimmer in his eyes that he sometimes gets when he discovers a new plaything.

The two of them began to make their way, side by side, towards the kitchen.

"So far so good," Cliff said to Snow. "We gotta follow behind them and keep up. But make sure Peacemaker doesn't spot you under ANY circumstances."

"Roger that," Snow replied.

Making sure they were always a safe distance away, the two dragonets followed after their targets. Cliff darted behind various stalagmites and objects for additional cover, and always peeking his head around corners before proceeding, all the while having a delighted smile on his face. _A genuine smile, _Snow noticed as he followed his lead, very amused by how thrilled his SkyWing friend was.

"You look like you're having fun," Snow said to Cliff as they stopped behind a corner.

Cliff's joy shifted to embarrassment after hearing Snow's comment.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Snow said quickly after realizing he'd lowered Cliff's spirits. "I just think it's nice that you're enjoying yourself so much."

"…You don't think I'm silly or girly for liking this romance stuff?" Cliff asked quietly, as if embarrassed to even utter it aloud.

"Of course not. And even if I did, I would never think less of you for being 'silly or girly,' you know," Snow said, patting his friend on the shoulder with a talon. "Especially if it's something that makes you happy. I like seeing you happy."

"Three moons, how are you so _nice_ all the time," Cliff muttered under his breath. "…Thank you Snow," he said more directly to the IceWing. "I sometimes forget you're the most nonjudgmental dragon in existence."

"Well I hope you got it memorized now, because I don't want to see you embarrassed doing something you enjoy. Now come on! We've got a mission to do."

Cliff nodded with an unfiltered smile, as the two of them strode their way sneakily through the tunnels.

Pear and Peacemaker had almost reached the kitchen cave when Snow noticed a pair of RainWings spot them in the distance. The RainWings began heading in the direction of Pear and Peacemaker, who hadn't yet noticed their presence.

_Uh oh, those RainWings probably want to join them or something. If they do, Peacemaker will surely accept their company and the date will be ruined!_

Before Snow had finished his thought, Cliff swiftly trotted across the tunnel with impressive speed, cutting off the two RainWings. Pear and Peacemaker entered the kitchen, entirely unaware.

"Hi," Cliff said. "Sorry, but you can't speak with Pear and Peacemaker right now. They're currently in the middle of a very important engagement and I've been tasked with making sure no one interrupts them," he said, with striking authority. "If you have any urgent business with them, please let me know and I'll pass along a message once they are available."

The two RainWings looked stunned by the sudden appearance of Cliff. They glanced at each other with confusion.

"N-no, we don't have any, uh, business with them," said the smaller RainWing. "It looked like they were just hanging out, so we were gonna join them…"

"Thanks for stopping us though," the other RainWing said. "I had no idea they were in the middle of something so important. We'll get going then."

The two of them respectfully left, and Snow strode up to join Cliff. "That was a close one. Well done Cliff, you were very convincing there."

For the first time, Cliff didn't seem affected by Snow's praise. Instead he was impatiently looking towards the kitchen's entrance. "Thank you," he said hurriedly, "but we have to sneak into the kitchen _now_, before we miss anything juicy."

Without another word, he slunk into the kitchen cave. Snow let out an amused sigh and followed behind.

A tempest of different food scents wafted into Snow's nostrils as he passed through the entrance. The walls were lined with various cooking utensils, with a tool for practically any culinary conundrum imaginable. Large pots and pans were spread out on even larger tables, while a number of clay furnaces remained pressed into the wall.

It was relatively empty during this time of day, with only a few dragonets present. Pear and Peacemaker had apparently made their way to a secluded corner, where Peacemaker was ogling some equipment hung on the wall with a sparkle in his eyes.

Snow snuck down beside Cliff, lying beneath the side of a large stone table and peeking over the top to see whatever events transpire. They were only hidden from Pear and Peacemaker's view, so the other dragons in the room gave them an odd look. Snow shrugged awkwardly at them, hoping they wouldn't press the issue further.

"…And that's where I baked the cake," Pear said, pointing a claw towards one of the clay furnaces. "It was pretty fun. I might bake you another one someday… if you'd like one I mean." Snow was barely able to hear that last part of the sentence.

"Yeah! That sounds like fun!" Peacemaker responded so loudly that Snow regretted straining his ears to listen. "Maybe I'll even help you next time. You know, I've never cooked anything before."

"Really?"

"Well my mom used to do all the cooking for me," Peacemaker admitted. "But all these crazy tools look super cool. I wanna try using them." He pulled down a large knife that was being hung on the wall and marveled at it in his talons. "This one cuts stuff, right?"

"…Yes Peacemaker. That is a knife."

"All right, let's see how well it cuts things then," he said. With no other warning, he raised the knife to the air and swung it down on a large rock, before anyone was able to warn him about his terrible idea.

The knife bounced off of the surface of the rock – unsurprisingly unable to pierce through its exterior – and the recoil sent it flying backward towards Peacemaker, leaving a cut across his forearm.

"OW," Peacemaker yelped. The knife continued its trajectory and clanked harmlessly on the ground, a small amount of blood dripping from its sharp edge.

Snow saw blood oozing out of Peacemaker's arm. Not a lot, but enough to make Snow feel a little nauseous.

"Peacemaker's hurt," Cliff whispered to Snow. "This is perfect!"

Snow looked towards the SkyWing with a baffled expression. "What are you talking about? We have to go help him." As Snow began to rise, Cliff dragged him back down.

"No! This is classic romance stuff. It's always super romantic whenever a dragon is hurt and another dragon is really worried. It's the perfect opportunity to show affection," Cliff explained. "Trust in Pear to handle it."

"What on Pyrrhia were you _thinking_!?" Pear's voice rang out, prompting Snow to turn his attention back to them. "That was incredibly dangerous! You're lucky you didn't lose an eye."

Peacemaker's expression looked immensely guilty, as he clutched his bleeding arm. "I'm sorry! I really thought that would work."

Pear grabbed a nearby cloth and tore it with her claws. "Hold out your arm," she said.

Peacemaker obliged, his snout facing the floor in shame.

"You really ought to be more careful, Peacemaker," Pear said as she tenderly wrapped the cloth around the wound and tied it in place. "I don't want to see you get hurt. You're very important to me. I… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Sure enough, Peacemaker's face blushed briefly, as he nodded quietly in response.

"Whoa, you were right," Snow whispered to Cliff. "I'm sorry I doubted your romantic expertise."

"I'm basically a pro," Cliff boasted with his head held high (as high as he could hold it while still being hidden). "Wow… I've never felt _proud_ for reading all those romance stories before. This is a new sensation."

Snow chuckled quietly. "You should be proud. It looks like the plan is working."

After that incident, the date continued on surprisingly smoothly. The two dragonets continued walking around the various tunnels and caves of Jade Mountain, passing through the art room, music room, and everything else the dragons had planned together.

Snow and Cliff loyally followed behind, and Cliff made sure no other dragon got close enough to interrupt them. Only a few other RainWings tried to unknowingly interfere before Cliff drove them away (though Snow did notice a couple of NightWings give Pear and Peacemaker a disapproving look).

Before long, the day was drawing to a close, as evidenced by the orange glow of the setting sun. The two dragonets were sitting down on all fours near one of the exits of Jade Mountain, with the distant desert in view. Cliff and Snow weren't far behind, peeking their heads around a corner.

_Wow_, Snow thought. _The view looks beautiful here… and it feels so nice._

Snow closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the descending sun on his snout (or rather, the small percentage of his snout that wasn't hidden behind the corner).

Peacemaker and Pear were quiet as they sat beside one another, simply watching the sunset. _Pear looks a lot calmer now_, Snow noticed. _I hope she's finally free from all the worrying._

"Pear," Peacemaker said, breaking the comfortable silence. "Today was more than just 'hanging out,' wasn't it?"

Snow gulped. _He's definitely more observant than we gave him credit for_, he thought with alarm.

Pear looked at the dark dragon, startled. "M-maybe it was a little more… than just 'hanging out,'" she admitted. "Is… is a little more okay?"

Peacemaker looked towards the sunset, and Snow could no longer see his full expression. The silence that followed made every bone in Snow's body tense, and he could see Pear was feeling a similar sensation. Even Cliff was standing perfectly still as they awaited Peacemaker's response.

But no words came out. Instead, Snow saw the visible side of Peacemaker's snout curl into a smile as he continued staring towards the sun, and his tail slowly shuffled towards Pear's, before twining with it.

Pear's tail returned the gesture, and she looked off into the sunset as well, an expression of contentment and relief written on her face.

"All right," Snow whispered to Cliff. "It's time for us to go."

The SkyWing had an enchanted look as he watched the scene unfold, his eyes sparkling and his snout in a small smile.

"Cliff?" Snow said, gently shaking him. "You still with me?"

"Huh, oh, yeah," Cliff said, breaking out of his daze. "Wait, you want to leave _now_?"

"…Yeah, I think we're done here," Snow said, looking over at the two dragonets on the ledge. "Mission accomplished."

"But I don't want to go yet," said Cliff. "We're just getting to the good part."

Snow rolled his eyes. "This isn't a romance scroll, Cliff. We can't just spy on them as they're having a private moment."

"Nooooo," Cliff complained quietly as Snow practically dragged him away. "I want to see what happens next. What if they kiss or something?"

"That's not for us to see," Snow said, trying to stay quiet as he tugged on Cliff's arm. "We have to respect their privacy."

"Fine," Cliff sulked, grumbling as they made their way back to their sleeping cave.

The comfortable sight of the sleeping cave made Snow suddenly aware of how exhausted he was. _I was tenser than I thought_.

He unpacked Green from the bag. "Did you enjoy the show?" Snow asked.

"It was a very informative experience," Green said sagely. "Turns out that dragon romance is pretty similar to scavenger romance."

"And good call on the strawberry cake, that seemed to work out great," Snow complimented.

"Well, you know how much that boy loves his strawberries."

Snow turned back to Cliff and said, "Great job to you as well Cliff. Your whole plan worked wonders. I think it went really well."

"Well of course it did," Cliff said, his chest puffed out with brazen pride. "We constructed the perfect date. They walked around together enjoying each other's company, saw some sights, and ended it with a nice view of the sunset."

"You know," Snow said, "by following them around all day, we kinda did all those things too. It's almost like you and I were… uh, never mind."

Cliff cocked his head inquisitively at Snow, but fortunately before he could ask for clarification, Peacemaker entered the sleeping cave. He was humming a happy tune and walking with a rhythm to his steps.

_He's back unexpected early_, Snow thought. _It's a good thing we left when we did, or else he might've caught us._

"Well don't you look chipper," Cliff said.

"I had a fun day," he said, flying up to his hammock and sinking into it. He started to swing it lazily, tracing a claw on the cloth wrapped around his forearm.

Snow and Cliff shared a quick glance, satisfied with the success of their mission.

"Guys," Peacemaker whispered down at his friends, "I think Pear… _likes_ me."

"Whoa, really? I had no idea," Cliff said in a remarkably convincing performance. _If I didn't already know he was pretending, I'd have believed him for sure._

Snow decided not to say anything, worried that he'd give them away immediately. _I'm pretty bad at lying…_

But Peacemaker had an odd expression as he looked at Cliff, squinting his eyes inquisitively. "Hey wait a minute, you knew already didn't you? Even Snow and Green knew!"

"Pear told us everything," Snow blurted out. "And we helped her set up today's entire date and we were watching the whole time."

"Snow!" Cliff whispered loudly. "What the heck are you doing?"

"I'm sorry! Once I opened my mouth I couldn't stop."

"Wow…" Peacemaker said. "You guys helped Pear plan all that… and you were spying on us?"

"Only to make sure no one interrupted your date!" Snow said, with his head held down in shame. "Please don't be mad..."

"Are you kidding?" Peacemaker said, jumping down from his hammock and approaching the two dragonets. Snow prepared himself to be berated, but instead felt Peacemaker's arm wrap around his neck in a hug. "I'm not mad at all. I'm super happy that I've got such awesome friends."

Peacemaker had both Cliff and Snow in a hug with each arm, and also somehow managed to scoop Green into it as well. "You guys went through all that for me and Pear? You three really are the best friends a dragon could ask for."

"A-anything for you, buddy," said Cliff. Even he was caught off-guard by the sudden embrace, though he returned the gesture soon after.

_He's warmer than he looks_, Snow noticed as he reciprocated the gesture as well. He felt a deep peace as he hugged his three best friends.

_I'm a lucky dragon._


End file.
